A Charming Experience: The Windsor Boys’ School Production of Treasure Island (March 2023)

The Art:

First of all, the entire stage and set were wonderful - set the scene the minute you walked into the theatre. I thought the choice of show was excellent for an all-male cast, and I genuinely believed they were in each location of the plot, even with only small but significant props to indicate this. Ethan, in the role of Jim Hawkins, was, of course, brilliant - always fully committed and engaging. He was also very believable for playing a younger character but not overplayed. He never tries to outdo other cast members but still possesses a great presence and stage quality. There were plenty of brilliant performances from a few other actors - even ones with smaller parts - who still managed to leave a lasting and fabulous impression. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it and believe it was well-directed - staged with some lovely performances and great humour. It was a high standard of theatre, thoroughly enjoyable, and a very funny show.

Words: Beatrice Fletcher

The Artist:

A Chat With Jim Hawkins: Ethan Tullett Discusses His Emotional Treasure Island Experience

First of all, I know there was some emotional attachment to this show (it’s okay, you can admit it) because it was your last one at The Windsor Boys’ School. Did that add to your level of commitment and do you think it helped you generate a stronger performance?

“Of course it did! Being at the Windsor Boys’ School for over five years and from the early years (e.g., year 9-11), I have watched other shows put on by TWBS drama, being inspired so much by the year 13 leads with their final performance and have always aspired to be a main character. Additionally, Treasure Island was my drama teacher’s final show (Ashleigh Walter), with over 6 years worth of shows, so I knew I had to increase my level of commitment in terms of lines, cues, etc., in order to make this show the most memorable and strongest performance for her, and altogether go out with a bang!”

Treasure Island is one of those stories that everyone is usually aware of. Were you aware of the story beforehand and what kind of things did you look into to help prepare for the role of Jim Hawkins?

“Before the auditions and the actual show, I was vaguely aware of the story, only knowing a few characters and a tiny bit of the story. Through this, I knew I had to go into further research and depth in order to understand what I had gotten into fully. Initially, before the auditions, I didn’t know which character to go for until I watched the National Theatre’s version of Treasure Island online - for me to fully understand the character types, and I knew from the very start that I wanted to act as Jim Hawkins. Upon preparing for the role of Jim Hawkins, I looked towards inspiration from Patsy Ferran’s version of Jim Hawkins, noting down various physical and vocal elements within her version of the character to take towards my own version. From this, I discovered and learned various elements of Jim Hawkins as a character, most notably his child-like nature, which I incorporated and thus helped me prepare for the show.”

Having worked with you, I know you have great natural instincts as an actor. You have a voice you do for Jim Hawkins, which helps create this naïve and sympathetic figure. How did the voice come about and what was it like trying to maintain that throughout the show?

“The character of Jim Hawkins is aged 12-13 years old, so I knew I had to replicate his almost prepubescent nature within the voice he uses, creating, as stated, a naïve and sympathetic figure. My aim of the voice designated was to further display Jim’s attributes and personality traits towards the audience so that they get fully immersed into my character and, more so, keep them engaged in the storyline due to Jim Hawkins being practically a narrator of the entire story. During rehearsals, the voice was a tad bit difficult to maintain, but through increased amounts of practice and vocal preparation, I found it was easy to maintain the voice throughout every show!”

For a school production, the set was incredibly impressive and really helped create the world of the show. Beatrice Fletcher even said: “the entire stage and set were wonderful - set the scene the minute you walked into the theatre.” I know you all helped create the set alongside Ashleigh Walter. What was that experience like and how rewarding was it to see how well it all came out?

“The entire experience of building the set alongside the entirety of the show was absolutely incredible and one of the best experiences I have had within a show! Every single cast member helped build the set, and each contributed an idea that could be implemented towards the set, creating an incredible final product. For example, the design for the moveable sail came from my good friend, Jamie Hutchinson’s creative mind. In my opinion, building the set grew the closeness - that was already present and further stabilising, what I would say, family. Cringe, I know, but it’s true; we were all really that close! Moreover, we had help from other people in my A-Level Drama class, who designed parts of the set, which helped further showcase the creativity and professionalism of the set. We all thought seeing the final product of the set was extremely rewarding and would help us towards our acting on display through the new atmosphere that was involved through the set.”

You were fantastic in this production, but so were many of your cast mates. Was there anyone in particular you were really impressed with and what about their performance did you like so much?

“Ahhh, thank you very much! All my castmates were absolutely amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for better castmates. There was one person in particular that really stood out, and I was impressed by, and it was my friend Jake Longstaff, who played Ben Gunn! Ben Gunn was Jake’s first role in a TWBS production, and what a difficult role it was. The character of Ben Gunn is incredibly difficult to act both physically and vocally due to the character being an estranged madman, and Jake managed to perfectly showcase Ben Gunn’s character to the audience. This, alongside the fact he is still only in year 11, impressed both the audience and cast members. One thing in particular I loved about his performance was the specific mannerisms that he chose to come into play within his character!”

One of my favourite moments in the show was when the gunshot goes off and the lights fade to black, ending Act 1. I thought it was very well done. What part was your favourite and why?

“Ooooooooo, there were quite a few moments in the show that are my favourite. If I had to choose one in particular, it would be the stargazing scene with my character and Long John Silver (played by my close mate Elliot Stephenson). This is one of, if not my favourite moment, due to the sheer sentimental value within the scene. First of all, everyone was present in the scene. Secondly, Elliot and I have known each other since the start of year 9, and we were both leads in a show we did in year 9 called Billy The Kid. So, seeing how far we’ve come from Billy The Kid to our final show ever at TWBS made this scene my favourite scene out of all scenes due to how far we have come alongside this scene directed specifically to acting with one of my closest friends.”

You’ve done many performances and shows in your young life. What did you learn from this experience doing Treasure Island that you perhaps hadn’t before?

“I learned quite a few things during this experience actually that I hadn’t before. Firstly, I learned the most adequate and efficient way of learning lines for me. Before acting for this character, I never had a set way to learn several pages worth of lines, let alone the amount of lines Jim Hawkins has. For it to work, I learned that the best way for me was to listen to music, read through the lines in a given scene a couple of times, and then jot down everything on notes and go back to the script to see if I’m right or wrong, and repeat it until everything goes perfectly. Another thing I learned was something less physical and more emotional, this being to treasure every acting piece, no matter how big or small, as you don’t realise what you have got until it’s gone.”

You know I had to ask this, being at PQA so long, has it helped you feel more comfortable in shows and environments like this, and is there anything PQA has taught you that you take to these things?

“Haha, yes, I have been at PQA for over 6 amazing years! Over my time at PQA, my acting skills, both physically and vocally, have been tested and have allowed me to become a better and proud actor in pieces that I have done outside of PQA, making me feel way more comfortable in shows and an array of environments, no matter who I’m acting with. Trying not to sound corny or anything, but PQA has really taught me to be myself and be amazing, as per the slogan (cringey, I know, but extremely true); they have taught me to not care about what anyone says about anything negatively - acting or not - and further showed me how to take constructive criticism and help me build upon it, making myself a better actor!”

Finally, what is your lasting memory of the 2023 Windsor Boys’ School’s Treasure Island production?  

“What an amazing final question! My lasting memory of the 2023 Windsor Boys’ School production of Treasure Island would be the events that happened in the dressing room after the final show. At the TWBS, we have a tradition in which we use up every last bit of energy we have left and sing/shout the song “500 Miles” by The Proclaimers at the top of our lungs, banging and standing on the table and chairs as we alternate verses/choruses. This being the last time felt very emotional and incredibly surreal, especially being part of a tradition that has lasted for ages. Another tradition we have and also did after “500 Miles” was the giving of socks from lower years to the year 13s. During this tradition, a lower year chooses a year 13, based on the relationship their individual character has, and gives them a sock that fits the actual year 13s nature they would like. Altogether, this lasting memory through traditions was incredible, and I will surely miss acting at The Windsor Boys’ School and Treasure Island 2023.”