ROBINSON CRUSOE PANTO 2026
From my kitchen window I can see the roof of The Chestnuts, off Bonville Road, Brislington ,a 17th century house, once the home of Sir John Hawkins, Mayor of Bristol in 1702, and one of the Bristol merchants who funded the round the world voyage of Captain Woodes Rogers, who rescued Alexander Selkirk, reputedly the “real life Robinson Crusoe “, in 1709.
For Gemini Players in Brislington, I’ve written a new panto version , blending fact, fiction and total nonsense, together with a sprinkling of local history! “Robinson Crusoe” will be performed at St Luke’s Church Hall, Church Parade, Brislington, 18 – 20 February 2026 at 7.30 with a 2.30 matinee on Saturday 21 February. Tickets ( Adults £10, Children £8 ) are now on sale from Jackie Wadsworth on 07388774516 ( jax.wadsworth@gmail.com )
Woodes Rogers appears as a character as Captain of “The Bristol Rover”. In reality Rogers was born in Poole about 1679 and grew up in Bristol in the 1690s where he later married and had three children. There is a plaque commemorating him as “A Great Seaman, Circumnavigator and Colonial Governor “on 35 Queen Square, site of his former home. In 1697 aged 18 he was apprenticed to a Bristol mariner, John Yeamans. For much of his career Woodes was a slave trader. His round the world voyage lasted from 1708 – 1711. On February 2 1709 Woodes rescued Scottish castaway Alexander Selkirk (1676 – 1721) from Juan Fernandez Island (renamed Robinson Island in 1966) off the coast of Chile. Rogers ships “The Duke” and “The Duchess” returned to England in 1711 where reputedly Daniel Defoe (c 1600 – 1731) met Selkirk in the Llandoger Trow in King Street, and was inspired to write, “Robinson Crusoe” published in 1719. It’s more likely this story was created in the 1960s and 70s by Berni Inns who then ran the 17th century pub but it is possible Defoe (a frequent visitor to Bristol) did meet Selkirk at the Star Inn in Cock and Bottle Lane, off Castle Street. It’s also said Selkirk met Defoe at a house in St James Square, St Paul’s, the home of Mrs Damaris Daniell.
It is said Selkirk paraded himself in the Bristol streets dressed in the goat skins he’d worn on the island. In 1713 it is believed Selkirk served time for two years for assault on a shipwright while in Bristol after which he returned to Scotland and later London, living with one woman and marrying another. He then enlisted in the Royal Navy and died off the coast of Africa of yellow fever in 1721 aged 45 and was buried at sea. Selkirk was said to have been quarrelsome and unruly. As a young man he was twice brought before the Kirk Sessions for “indecency” in church and assaulting his brothers.
Anne Bonny (d 1733) and Mary Read (c1681 – c. 1721) were real life female pirates and are the “comedy double act” in the pantomime. Little is known of them but it is reputed they were lovers at some time. Bonny may have been Irish and Read may have been born in Bristol in about 1681, daughter of a pirate, John Read.
The panto villain is “Lizzie Teach”, a fictional pirate but inspired by Elizabeth Teach (c 1682 – 1728), real life sister of Edward Teach (Thatch/Teache) , better known as “Blackbeard” (c1680 – 1718). Elizabeth and Edward Teach were the grandchildren of Revd Thomas Teach (1617 – 1668) who was vicar of St Cyr, Stonehouse, near Gloucester from 1654 – 1661. Edward and Elizabeth’s father Edward Snr (1659 – 1706) was born in Stonehouse and christened at St Cyr. He married and moved to Bristol about 1680 and became a mariner and possibly recruited sailors at the Llandoger Trow. The family may have lived near St Mary Redcliffe church and attended services there. It is possible, but not proven, that both Edward and Elizabeth were born in Bristol. There is a Redcliffe Street and St Mary’s Street in Antiqua. Blackbeard’s mother inherited a slave run sugar plantation in Spanish Town, Jamaica in about 1686 and the family moved there. She died in 1699 and is buried there. Blackbeard received a good education and his family were part of elite society. His sister Elizabeth married a French Hugenot merchant in 1707 and died in Jamaica in 1728 aged about 45.
By 1716 Blackbeard had become a pirate, raiding French and Spanish ships in the West Indies.
He created a terrifying image of himself. Tall, broad shouldered, he is said to have eaten glass and lit tapers in his long dark hair and beard. He was killed at the battle of Orcracoke, South Carolina against the Royal Navy in November 1718. His head was cut off by a claymore and displayed on the ship’s bowsprit and was said to have been pickled and used as a drinking vessel in a tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia. His body was said to have been thrown overboard but swam round the ship three times but this have been because of tidal waves. Thomas Teach, a possible cousin of Blackbeard was living in Bristol in 1712. He leased a house by the docks from another cousin, Martin Nelme, who became Coroner of Bristol in 1697.
Another panto character is Israel Hands (c 1701 – c 1722) , who was Blackbeard’s second in command and was possibly born or grew up in Bristol. Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 – 1894) used the name for Long John Silver’s villainous side kick in “Treasure Island” ( 1883 ). It’s possible that Hands died in poverty in London but it has been suggested he later changed his name to ‘Hynde” . In April 1722 a “Israel Hynde”, aged 30, from Bristol was hanged at Cape Coast Castle (now Ghana, West Africa).
The first “Robinson Crusoe” pantomime was staged and written in 1781 at Drury Lane, London by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751 – 1816). Italian pantomimist and theatre manager, Carlo Delpini (c.1740 – 1828) played the title role. “Robinson Crusoe” was also the first pantomime to be staged in USA, in New York in 1786. One of the earliest recorded “Robinson Crusoe” pantomimes in Bristol was seen at The Regency Theatre , Prince Street (now site of the Bristol Hotel) in 1812.” Robinson Crusoe” is the only traditional pantomime to be based on an English novel.
From the 1870s “Robinson Crusoe” was a favourite panto story in Bristol with regular productions at The Prince’s Theatre in Park Row, and Theatre Royal. The last professional production in Bristol was the 1970-71 pantomime at Bristol Hippodrome starring Jimmy Clitheroe, diminutive star of the radio series, “The Clitheroe Kid “ (1956 – 72) as “Billy Crusoe”. By the 1990s the story had fallen out of favour because of its racist and colonial overtones but there are at least four productions for the 2025 -26 panto season.
Gemini Players “Robinson Crusoe” will feature the haunting and evocative theme tune from the 1964 French/German TV series “The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe”, first broadcast in UK the following year and regularly repeated until 1982. Blond, handsome, Austrian actor, Robert Hoffman, who played the title role died in 2022 aged 82.
Jonathan Rowe 2025
Brislington Community News 