Thanks to the National Lottery, producer Michael Harrison & QDOS and the Sun Saver free tickets scheme it was with some excitement and anticipation we travelled down to Plymouth in Devon to see our first Christmas Pantomime of the reduced season and a rarely seen title of Robinson Crusoe. How appropriate to go in search of Crusoe in a city associated with Alexander Selkirk, the 18th century shipwrecked survivor on whom Daniel Defoe based his famous story and to stand on Plymouth Hoe on a windy December evening before the show gazing out at the ocean. However, that was as close to the original story that we got as this stripped back production borrows the title only to link a series of familiar routines in a music hall style show, but at least it was live theatre and for that we must be thankful.
The Theatre Royal has a wonderful modern spacious 1300 seat auditorium but, on this occasion, the ultra-cautious management can only make available every other row and leave two empty seats between each group in the filled rows. It inevitably mutes the atmosphere. They also dispense with all bar and café sales and programme and merchandising sales therefore taking no ancillary income and are careful to release the audience at the end on a row-by-row basis. There is no interval either in the 80-minute show to avoid queues at the toilets (which are open). It is a very safe feeling environment for the face covered audience.
