Staging a comeback: Tom Swift tells us all about his new panto Treasure Island

Wicked Production’s take on Treasure Island: The show begins at the Benbow Inn that’s owned by our hero of the story Jim Hawkins and his silly brother Jolly Roger. One night they are awoken by a loud bang at the door when Billy Bones enters, cursed by the black spot. He shows a treasure map and before his curse comes to fruition he enlists the

So Tom, how have you been over the past 17 months? I can't say it's been easy BUT I’m very blessed to have a roof over my head and a beautiful family to support and help me through these difficult times for the events industry. help of Jim and Roger to find the buried treasure. But of course, Long John Silver finds out about the voyage and manages to fool the crew and climb on board the great ship Hispaniola. Now what happens next is a secret as we wouldn’t want to give it all away now would we? You’ll have to come and see it… To book tickets, priced Did Wicked Productions receive any of the government funding? Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in receiving cultural grants and failed to get funding from the council to help pay our rents on our scenic and costume stores. Thankfully though I had some savings put aside that helped the company survive £16, for Treasure Island which runs from August 18 - 22 at EM Forster Theatre visit www.emforster theatre.co.uk during these times. You managed to do a virtual panto at Christmas in association with EM Forster theatre so how does it feel to be finally preparing to go live again? I can't wait to be able to get on stage in front of an audience and hear the laughter once again - you really can’t beat a live show! That said it was great we got the opportunity last Christmas to stream our pantos online and still bring some well needed chuckles to families in Kent. We got sent so many videos of families watching the pantos and I got very emotional watching those. I’m so pleased we were able to give some joy to our audiences during the pandemic. What made you decide upon doing Treasure Island? We love our version of it. We last performed it in Tunbridge Wells in 2013 and since then it's been re-written and made shorter and tighter to keep all the fun and interactive elements. And who doesn't love a story with Pirates? It works so well as a comedy show as the story of Treasure Island is easy to follow allowing us the time to add more silly routines and sketches. How many are in the show and have you found it relatively straightforward to rehearse etc given the current situation? There are six of us in total and I’m so lucky that all the cast are close friends including my wife. We really do have some Kent panto royalty on stage with Ant Payne (Sevenoaks panto) and Rob Cummings (Gravesend panto). What do you enjoy most about working with them? They are such a funny and talented bunch and we are sure to have a great time on stage together. Rehearsal will be outdoors as much as possible and indoors we will continue to social distance and wear masks and keep testing so we can to keep our cast safe throughout. What measures are in place to ensure your audiences feel safe when seeing your alfresco production of Treasure Island? We will seat groups with a sensible distance between each of them. If you are coming to buy an ice cream from the bar or heading to the toilet you will be asked to wear a mask so we can continue to keep each other as safe as possible. Is there a plan B if the rain shows up? It is a risk you take with outdoor theatre and the show will go on unless there is any concern for anyone’s safety. So pack your waterproofs, wellies and sun cream – just in case, it’s all part of the British Summer!

TREASURE ISLAND’S GOING TO BE A WHOLE LOT OF FUN! YO HO HO AHOY ME HEARTIES!

Wicked Productions are renowned for their popular pantos but the

Covid crisis put paid to any live shows – until now. Here its founder and funnyman Tom Swift (pictured right) explains why he’s so excited to be putting on Treasure Island later this month at the EM Forster theatre And finally what do you think the audiences will enjoy most about seeing your version of Treasure Island? I think they will enjoy seeing live theatre in the open air in the beautiful surroundings of Tonbridge School. Our main priority is to make sure visitors feel relaxed and safe so they can just sit back, laugh, smile and get up and dance again. And I’m sure a water gun might make an appearance again - even if it does rain!

“We provide our young people with the support they need to enjoy good mental well-being”

Children’s education has suffered enormously due to the pandemic – but for many so has their mental health. Here Chris Munday, CEO of Crossways Community explains why the charity’s new Reboot Project is helping many local to navigate life post lockdown…

Crossways Community is a Christian mental health charity which is based and works entirely in Tunbridge Wells and Southborough.

Our mission is to deliver care and support to people with poor mental health, to combat exclusion and stigma often experienced by people with poor mental health and to promote improved mental health in the community.

As a charity we are particularly concerned at the state of the mental health of our young people. We see rising cases of poor mental health in our local schools. We are acutely conscious that the current pandemic has damaged so many young people and that mental health statutory services are overwhelmed.

So our offering to our community is ‘Reboot’. This is our impactful and focused project that works in local secondary and primary schools to give our young people tools to improve their mental resilience. The project is headed up by one of our colleagues Sara Barker who has many years’ experience in youth work and mental wellbeing education among young people.

Our work in secondary schools is interactive and empowering. We share proven tips on how to spot poor mental health in yourself and your friends, how to look after one another, how to improve your own mental resilience and we signpost to other resources and agencies who offer further advice and support.

For older children facing public exams and decisions about careers and universities we offer practical advice on how to deal with stress, anxiety and depression.

Normally we would deliver our Reboot training face-to-face but clearly during lockdown that was not possible. So, we provided a series of practical and accessible talks online that teachers, youth leaders and teenagers could use with their groups. A local youth worker worried at the effect of the pandemic on her young people said: "This is exactly the sort of thing I have been after! Thank you so much."

For younger children the move to secondary school can be a worrying time. So, we have been providing lessons for nine local primary schools teaching Year 6 children about mental resilience and equipping them for their transition to secondary school.

Over the last few weeks of term last month, we spoke to over four hundred local children from primary schools including St Augustine’s, Brenchley and Matfield, St Matthew’s, Groombridge, Fordcombe, Southborough, Pembury, The Mead and Hilden Grange prep schools.

In addition to the work we do in schools we also provide high quality residential accommodation and support to over sixty local people through care homes, supported housing and independent living. We also have a number of strong and growing community projects. Our awardwinning café ‘The Kitchen Table’ in Camden Road is open to all but has a special focus on providing a supportive environment for those living with poor mental health. It is a cafe which is all about chat rather than coffee.

At Crossways we are committed to providing our young people with the support, resources and encouragement they need to enjoy good mental wellbeing.

Reboot is our impactful and focused project in local secondary and primary schools which improves mental resilience

If you would like us to come to your school to provide our Reboot programme or for further information on accessing any of our projects, please contact Chris Munday at info@crosswayscommunity. org.uk