Treasure Island
Thursday 30 March saw our long awaited performances of Treasure Island finally go ahead and, wow, it was worth the wait!
In this wonderful pantomime, the famous Long John Silver, his parrot Polly, and a gang of pirates set sail in search of buried treasure in the Caribbean. Jim Hawkins and Jenny Trelawney strive to outwit the wily seadogs with the help of Jim’s mum and her friends from the local Women’s Institute.
The whole cast worked so well together to bring the show to life and kept the audience engaged and entertained throughout. Their delivery was described as ‘hilarious’ and everyone in attendance would agree that it was a roaring success.
Covid has certainly thrown a few spanners in the works along the way as enhanced lockdown restrictions meant that the original performance dates at Christmas had to be postponed. Previous to that, restrictions within schools meant that no live performances could take place, so this was the first time that students had performed live on stage in at least two years. Year group bubbles also meant that students had not worked with anyone outside of their own year group for two years.
The cast worked very closely with the Carisbrooke College cast and supported each others’ performances by taking on the ensemble role for each other.
Huge thanks to the following:
- Mr Lyle, Mrs Peckham, Mrs Shorrock and Miss Elkin for their expert leadership, direction and choreography
- Mr Winsor for supporting and playing in the band
- Ex-student Harry for his expert help with lighting and sound
- The Art Department for their help with props and set
- The Food Tech Department for providing the interval refreshments
- The Bushell family for all of their help with costumes
- Blackgang Chine for the loan of some of the set and props
- Our Year 10 Stage Crew for being amazing and working hard throughout
- Our Year 9 hair and make up artists
“Treasure Island gave our students the opportunity to work together as a team and it has been fantastic to see them bonding and developing new relationships. Since rehearsals began, we have seen the confidence of every student involved soar and it has been fantastic to witness this. I am incredibly proud of the students – they are all stars of the future!”
“Last week saw the culmination of so much hard work from our staff and students. They created a dynamic and hilarious show. Through the high winds of Covid regulations and the turbulent waves of delays they have battled through on the pirate ship “The Hispaniola” to perform a phenomenal show. Working closely with Carisbrooke students, the Medina Team proved “ship shape” and ready for action. Over the top characters and fabulous songs and dance led the audience on a pirate adventure across the sea to the sunny caribbean. The audience were fantastic joining in with the classic pantomime participation. Every Student involved gave it their all and were an absolute credit to Medina College. What a fantastic end to term! oh no it isn’t – OH YES IT IS!!!”
“The panto was incredible!
I know how nervous some of the cast must have been but absolutely none of it showed through at all. I was sat in the very back row and could hear every line delivered confidently – including the ad-libbing. It was fantastic for me personally to see some of my quieter and more shy students come out of their shells into leading roles and absolutely owning their space and time in the limelight on stage. The presence of the leads must be commended here! If you had told me the year groups and ages of some of the actors/actresses, I just wouldn’t have believed you – a testament to their maturity.”
