Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates Review

December 15, 2016 by Claire Cosgrove

I love a pantomime. I’ve been to many over the years and their warmth and charisma always gets me into the festive mood. So intrinsically British, we come prepared to be part of the show, heckle and watch the inevitable corpsing and general mayhem. With Brian Conley at the helm, returning for another year at The Cliffs, Robinson Crusoe and the Caribbean Pirates promised to tick all the boxes.

It was certainly a glitzy affair! Produced by Qdos, one of the biggest Pantomime producers in the country, it looked expensive. The set was impressive, the props were polished, the costumes got bigger and better as the show went on.

There was a vague plot, floating around the “Brian Conley Entertainment Show”. Joining Brian on stage was fashionista, Gok Wan, as the Spirit of the Ocean who was offering help to Conley’s Robinson, to outwit the evil pirate Blackheart. I loved Gok and he looked like he was having a blast. With some funny ad-libs, his own musical number and some clever slapstick, he more than proved himself as a performer.

A fun Dame, who had more costume changes than Shirley Bassey, added some traditional fun. Polly, played by Suzy Banstone, deserves a special mention for having a whole apple spat in her face during one scene, every night. What a way to earn a living!

Conley is the ultimate, old-school entertainer. Clever and witty he is more than happy to monopolise the stage and run rings around anyone who crosses his path. And why the hell not? He sings, dances, jokes, throws out his catch phrase “it’s a PUPPET!” and generally misbehaves through various skits. It’s all a little bit naughty and near the knuckle, to the point that my 8-year old looked at me rather blankly a few times “why is that funny, mummy?”. Erm, will tell you later…

There are some truly lovely moments, which I don’t want to spoil, but the end of Act 1 is a sight to behold and magical. The children squirmed with delight and terror.

It’s big, brash and flashy, so polished at times, I wanted it to loosen up a bit. Scripted ad-libs are all well and good but it needs the edges knocked off it so the cast can really have some fun. Sure they will come as the show beds in.

Final words go to my 8-year son, who was my date for the night. “I think it was really fun for us children, I laughed a lot. The grown-ups had fun too – it was bit rude! My favourite character was the Spirit of the Ocean and I liked the silly song with all the actions (me too!). I would give it 9/10. Can I go now…?”

Can’t say fairer than that! On until the 8th January.