{"id":626279,"date":"2025-12-11T12:53:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T12:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/626279\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T12:53:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T12:53:23","slug":"treasure-island-a-triumph-as-classic-bristol-story-comes-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/626279\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasure Island a triumph as classic Bristol story comes home"},"content":{"rendered":"

“A play set in, performed by, for and with Bristol, and perfect for young and old alike”\"AdryneAdryne Caulder-James (Jim). Colin Leggo (Long John Silver)
\nTreasure Island at the Bristol Old Vic – December 2025-January 2026(Image: Johan Persson)<\/p>\n

What is perhaps the most famous literary creation to include Bristol has been adapted for the stage in a musical which manages to be both bold and adventurous but at the same time very intimate and inclusive.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Treasure Island, the Christmas show at the Bristol Old Vic, that is up and running now and has transformed the world\u2019s longest continually running theatre into a pirate-tastic galleon until well into January.<\/p>\n

The play is an absolute delight, a fun, clever, modern yet reverential take on the Robert Louis Stevenson Victorian classic that begins in Bristol in the 18th century age of piracy. Right from the start there is something very special about such an iconic story being performed in such a historic theatre just yards from the pubs and docks that are the inspiration for the story.<\/p>\n

But this is 2025, and the story begins in the present day – a Bristol Story Festival and a bit of stand up comedy \u2018crowd work\u2019 from the play\u2019s big name Jayde Adams which sets up the start of the story of young \u2018Jim\u2019 Hawkins, a 13-year-old working at the Benbow Inn where her mum is the landlady.<\/p>\n

In a flurry of drama at the start, she meets a pirate, who dies after bequeathing her a treasure map, and ends up on a ship with her local squire, doctor and captain, heading for the island to find the booty.<\/p>\n

The quest narrative is set, but this isn\u2019t a one-dimensional telling of the story everyone knows. Writers Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary expertly insert back-stories for all the characters, their hopes and fears and motivations, with little impact on the rollercoaster ride of the action and the plot.<\/p>\n

\"TreasureTreasure Island at the Bristol Old Vic – December 2025-January 2026(Image: Johan Persson)<\/p>\n

The songs are great as well, and in places this feels like a really well-crafted top quality Disney musical – in a good way – where the characters explain their motivations through song.<\/p>\n

But there are two things which make this a must-see in Bristol this winter. The first is the staging and the way the story is told. This isn\u2019t a stage show where the actors perform and the audience watch.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the start in the Story Festival, the clever way the backdrops peel back, the characters in the modern day literally carrying around the instruments they play to accompany the songs, the engaging cast and the wonderful acting, this is a show where the audience feels part of the story.<\/p>\n

\"TreasureTreasure Island at the Bristol Old Vic – December 2025-January 2026(Image: Johan Persson)<\/p>\n

The setting up of It feels wonderfully inclusive, as if we\u2019re going along to the island with them, rather than watching them do it. We know they are people like us acting out a story, and it\u2019s as if we\u2019re very much part of that too.<\/p>\n

The second are the performances themselves. The stand out is young Adryne Caulder-James, who plays \u2018Jim\u2019. She bounces around the stage with energy, has a great voice and revels in the size and scope of her part. The assemble around her support brilliantly too, especially Jayde Adams, the South Bristol comedian, TV presenter and actor.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s such a big personality that it would have been easy for her to take over the show and dominate, but she finds the perfect balance of playing her roles – and there are many – lighting up the stage with expert comic acting, but giving space for everyone else.<\/p>\n

\"JaydeJayde Adams as Ben Gunn
\nTreasure Island at the Bristol Old Vic – December 2025-January 2026(Image: Johan Persson)<\/p>\n

And also, we collectively often forget what an astonishing voice she has – but she showcases its full range from opera to musical theatre – wonderfully.<\/p>\n

Overall, the show is an absolute triumph. It\u2019s full of joy, laughter, song and wit. It\u2019s a play set in, performed by, for and with Bristol, and perfect for young and old alike. It\u2019s not a panto – don\u2019t mention the P-word – but navigates the narrow channel between too-serious Christmas play and slapstick panto cliche perfectly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"“A play set in, performed by, for and with Bristol, and perfect for young and old alike”Adryne Caulder-James…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,28103,748,35745,393,920,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-626279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-old-vic","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-christmas","12":"tag-england","13":"tag-events","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115701036572976030","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}