Review: Treasure Island ***

If there were marks for effort, this would be a five-star production.

Over two hours, two actors retell Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, a book which runs to 200-odd pages and features a cast

of 20.

But the sheer scope of what Wee Stories theatre company tries to achieve is part of the problem

The play opens with Andy Cannon and Iain Johnstone as two hapless band members stranded on a shipwrecked boat.

To the pass the time, they reach for the only book on board, a copy of Treasure Island, and while lost at sea they bring the tale of Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver to life.

Using all manner of props – an umbrella becomes the famous parrot – it's resourceful stuff, but keeping the attention of youngsters is no easy task, and with so much time spent setting the scene and ensuring the audience knows exactly who's who, there are moments when

it feels like an exercise in endurance.

As one of my nephews put it, "Just two guys telling the story, is a bit boring, isn't it?" He later added the best bit was when one of the drums accidentally fell off the stand, so his standards of what counts as good entertainment aren't particularly high.

The second half is much more successful as the race to the treasure

properly gets under way and a little audience reaction helps the pace along.

Cannon and Johnstone are clearly old hands when it comes to children's theatre and bring to the stage boundless enthusiasm.

The audience may not always be carried along on the waves of their own enjoyment, but they have a pretty good go.

To June 5.