Year 6 took the audience on a raucous journey all the way from Old London, across wild pirate infested seas in ships captained by thieves and fools, and onward to Lumbago, home of exotic beasts, fierce tribes and the mysterious Chief Wonga.
When siblings Jack and Liza’s mother Pearl Periwinkle and aunt Ruby are taken away by swashbuckling pirates, they are determined to find them as well as the mysterious treasure, rumoured to be on the desert island of Lumbago. Their adventure brings them up against all manner of fierce pirates and strange seafaring men, in particular the inept and eccentric Admiral Horatio Hornhonker, ably assisted by Captain Cod and Captain Piece. Pirate leader Captain Redbeard and his right hand men, Loopy Louie and Captain Stubble, along with their fast talking parrot Squawk, are after the treasure too, as are his crew of scurvy sailors, including hopelessly short-sighted Lookout Lofty and ill-trained ship’s doctor Cutthroat Clegg. Sidekicks Scuttle and Slack were on hand to provide perfect one-liners, keeping the audience in fits of laughter as were the pedantic and bureaucratic health and safety officers Mr A Wally and Mr A Pratt.
After an eventful journey on the two ships, all the characters were left stranded on Lumbago, an island that offered Jack, Liza and their clever and loyal cat Fiddlesticks more than just treasure to find. Enter strange tribal chieftain, Chief Wonga (complete with unsettling nervous tic), who fancies executing the entire crew for trespassing. After feisty Pearl hits him over the head with a large haddock, he comes to his senses and we find out that he is in fact Jack and Liza’s long lost father, Stanley Periwinkle. Treasure found!
The performances from the whole cast were superb, particularly the perfect comic timing and professional delivery of lines. The storyline was wonderfully narrated throughout by the two pirates, Deadeye Dinghy and Lethal Lilo. The rest of the cast danced, sang and acted fantastically well – the energy and pace of the show was breath-taking! After the show the audience were treated to an art exhibition of the girls’ wonderful marine and water work, which has been created over the term.
Well done to ALL the girls who took part in such an entertaining show, and for helping to provide such fantastic costumes. Special thanks go to the director, Claire Kirkby and her fantastic team: Amy Jo Brown (music director); Vilma Zarkovic and John Jones (set design and props); and Kerry Peart (choreographer and special sound effects supervisor). All our parents deserve a mention for costumes and props too!
A full gallery of photos will be placed on the website soon, but here a just few photos to enjoy.