Treasure Island at Bristol Old Vic will ‘shiver your timbers’

This new musical adaptation of “Treasure Island” is “the perfect show” for the holidays, said Dominic Cavendish in The Daily Telegraph. Indeed, Paul Foster’s production at the Bristol Old Vic – which brings Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale to life amid a modern-day pub storytelling competition – “is so finely wrought it warrants a much longer life”.

Jake Brunger (book and lyrics) and Pippa Cleary (music and lyrics) were responsible for “The Great British Bake Off Musical” (2022). That was a “sweet but lightweight” concoction; this is “saltier and more satisfying”. Lustily performed by eight actor-musicians, and infused with a love of Bristol and its maritime heritage, it “combines comic touches and modern flourishes” with traditional “swashbuckling derring-do”. If I have a gripe, it’s that there are too many mood-setting numbers. Otherwise, this looks like a very hearty hit that is certain to “shiver your timbers”.

What sets this enchanting show apart is the “confidence of its makers”, said Kris Hallett on What’sOnStage. “The songs are genuine earworms, lyrics crisp and playful, the score darting from Spanish pop and calypso to hints of Sondheim.” And there is a real charm to Tom Rogers’ design, with its vast map of Bristol that peels away to reveal ship and island – a flourish that has both “grandeur and theatrical simplicity”.

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The cast impress, too. Adryne Caulder-James’ performance as a gender-flipped Jim Hawkins is “brave, sharp and mercifully unsentimental”. As Long John Silver, Colin Leggo is “part villain, part wary mentor”. Comedian Jayde Adams “shines as both MC and an energetically oddball” Ben Gunn. All in all, it’s an “inviting night of family-friendly theatre”.

I could have done with a bit more of a sense of menace, said Rachel Halliburton in The Times. Still, the energy, great singing and Adams’ comedic skill carry things along, and by the end, even the most “rum-sozzled cynic” would find the evening hard to resist.

Filled with puppetry, sword fights and “rousing melodies”, this terrific entertainment “shrieks with life”, said Anya Ryan in The Guardian. “There are no Christmas carols here, but this adventure leaves you with a warm, seasonal glow.”

Bristol Old Vic, until 10 January