• Make a contribution
  • Get the Print Edition
  • Sign up for our daily newsletter
Wednesday, July 30, 2025
  • Login
Reading Today Online
  • HOME
  • YOUR AREA
    • All
    • Caversham
    • Central Reading
    • East Reading
    • Katesgrove
    • Reading
    • Southcote & Coley
    • Tilehurst & Norcot
    • Whitley

    Man charged with drugs and weapons charges following stabbing of teen in Reading

    Two attacked in Western Elms in early hours of Monday

    Reading West and Mid Berkshire MP Olivia Bailey celebrates Lionesses Euros win at 10 Downing Street

    Reading Pride releases statement regarding dropped sponsors ahead of town hall this week

    Uni of Reading given Green Flag award for 15th consecutive year

    Royal Berks Fire and Rescue unveils new training centre in Whitley Wood

    Reading men charged with robbery and weapons offences

    Time flies when you’re having fun volunteering

    Rewind returns next month

  • COMMUNITY
  • READING FC
  • SPORT
    • All
    • Basketball
    • Football
    • Rugby

    Ross County set value for Reading FC transfer target

    PREDICTIONS: How will Reading FC perform in the 2025/26 League One season?

    Reading West and Mid Berkshire MP Olivia Bailey celebrates Lionesses Euros win at 10 Downing Street

    Reading FC compete with League One clubs to sign striker

    Reading FC star Knibbs set to make Championship move as fee is agreed

    Reading FC confirm new signing as midfielder joins on permanent deal

    Former Reading FC loanee joins rivals

    Reading FC sign German attacker on permanent deal

    Reading and Chelsea legend Kerry Dixon set for Q&A at Purple Turtle

  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS
    • READING FESTIVAL
    • READING PRIDE
    • WOKINGHAM FESTIVAL
  • PRIDE OF READING
  • OBITUARIES
  • JOBS
  • ADVERTISE
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Reading Today Online
No Result
View All Result
Home Entertainment Arts

Review: Triangle Players’ Crusoe is swash-buckling, knee-slapping fun

Jake Clothier by Jake Clothier
Monday, January 30, 2023 2:51 pm
in Arts, Entertainment, Featured, Reading
A A
From left, Jan Charlton as Scurvy Sal, Bruce Thomas as Captain Birdseye, Barrie Davies as Auntie Chrissie, and Tracy Harrison as Emily. Picture Lesley-Anne Collins, courtesy of Triangle Players

From left, Jan Charlton as Scurvy Sal, Bruce Thomas as Captain Birdseye, Barrie Davies as Auntie Chrissie, and Tracy Harrison as Emily. Picture Lesley-Anne Collins, courtesy of Triangle Players

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

COMMUNITY theatre group Triangle Players is showing its latest production with this year’s panto, Robinson Crusoe.

Triangle Players have been performing in some form since the mid-1940s and currently puts on around three shows a year.

The production of Robinson Crusoe immediately shows the history behind the company in its embracing of everything that makes a classic panto.

The production sees Christine Mather’s Robinson as he embarks upon a journey in which he encounters native inhabitants of a desert island and his tribulations of survival at sea.

Mather portrays the main character well, sitting back when the secondary characters come into focus but pushing the story along with excitable energy when necessary.

Related posts

47-year-old woman arrested after two pedestrians die in road traffic collision in Caversham

Boy, 15, left with broken jaw after being attacked by three teenagers in Reading

Police release CCTV of man in relation to assault in Reading

Man and woman jailed for GBH, fraud and robbery in Reading, including assault on a man in his 80s

Mather’s chipper lightheartedness mixes well with the diverse array of secondary characters without upstaging or being overcrowded by them.

She is joined by partner Emily, played by Tracy Harrison, and Auntie Chrissie, played by Barrie Davies.

Davies’ Auntie Chrissie steals the show from the very beginning as she introduces the audience to the production.

Not only is she excellently portrayed, but her self-referential, nod-and-a-wink introduction sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the story.

Davies embraces the spirit of the panto as the character flits from cheeky gags when the story falls by the wayside to flighty overacting when the narrative is pushing forward.

As such, Auntie Chrissie brings both dramatic tension and genuine humour to every scene she’s in– especially when things go slightly awry with her wig.

Bruce Thomas’ Captain Birdseye and Noxious Nancy the pirate are also among the highlights, with the captain’s friendly authority providing a good counterpoint to the rest of the cast’s more wacky performances.

As well as the classic characters, the production embraces all that traditional pantomimes have to offer, including sing-a-long sections to popular tunes and breakaway sections of physical comedy and spoken asides.

As such, the production doesn’t let the narrative get in the way of a good joke or the chance to introduce unlikely characters.

Overall, Triangle Player’s production of Robinson Crusoe does exactly what a good pantomime should: takes the premise of the narrative and runs away to wherever it sees fit with it.

The cast has space to play and have fun with the characters and their interactions, creating a jolly, upbeat performance which balances the cheeky, subversive humour one expects from a panto without being rude or inappropriate.

The direction is also to be commended due to its focus on the fun elements of the production and the trimming of any extraneous exposition, especially as it is Lewis Gilbert’s debut production in the role.

As such, the production is a celebration of all that makes local theatre, and a traditional panto, so much fun and accessible for all.

The Triangle Players are also currently seeking members ahead of their upcoming shows.

“We’re always looking to recruit new members,” says Christine Mathers, “we have read-through auditions in mid-February which anybody is welcome to come along to.

“No experience is necessary, you’ll gain it as you go, and we’re very welcoming.”

The Players meet at 7.30pm on Wednesdays and Fridays at the hall behind the Methodist church on School Road.

Robinson Crusoe runs at the hall behind the Methodist church on School Road on Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, with an extra matinee on Saturday, February 4.

For more information on joining the players or to book tickets, visit: www.triangleplayers.co.uk/ or www.ticketsource.co.uk/triangle-players-tilehurst

Keep up to date by signing up for our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people who have requested it.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Tags: Pantopantomimerdgukreadingreading newsreading ukStageTheatreTilehurstTriangle Players
Previous Post

Queer events group Iota Events celebrates its first anniversary

Next Post

Leicester City 2-2 Reading (2-3 pens): Moloney penalty heroics helps Royals progress in FA Women’s Cup

FOLLOW US

POPULAR STORIES

  • Reading FC star Knibbs set to make Championship move as fee is agreed

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Former Reading FC striker Andy Carroll joins new club in England after leaving France

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Reading FC compete with League One clubs to sign striker

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Masked men armed with weapons rob store in Reading

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • League One side set to win race for former Reading FC young star

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

RDG.Today – which is a Social Enterprise – provides Reading Borough with free, independent news coverage.

If you are able, please support our work

Click Here to Support RDG.Today

ABOUT US

Reading Today is dedicated to providing news online across the whole of the Borough of Reading. It is a Social Enterprise, existing to support the various communities in Reading Borough.

CONTACT US

news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

Reading Today Logo

Keep up to date with our daily newsletter

We don’t spam we only send our newsletter to people that have subscribed

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

The Wokingham Paper Ltd publications are regulated by IPSO – the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
If you have a complaint about a  The Wokingham Paper Ltd  publication in print or online, you should, in the first instance, contact the publication concerned, email: editor@wokingham.today, or telephone: 0118 327 2662. If it is not resolved to your satisfaction, you should contact IPSO by telephone: 0300 123 2220, or visit its website: www.ipso.co.uk. Members of the public are welcome to contact IPSO at any time if they are not sure how to proceed, or need advice on how to frame a complaint.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • MY AREA
    • Central Reading
    • East Reading
    • Bracknell
    • Calcot
    • Caversham
    • Crowthorne
    • Earley
  • COMMUNITY
  • SPORT
    • Reading FC
    • Football
    • Rugby
    • Basketball
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS
    • READING FESTIVAL
    • READING PRIDE
    • WOKINGHAM FESTIVAL
  • PRIDE OF READING
  • OBITUARIES
  • JOBS
  • ADVERTISE
  • CONTACT US
  • SUPPORT US
  • SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
  • WHERE TO GET THE PRINT EDITION

© 2021 - The Wokingham Paper Ltd - All Right Reserved.