For over 100 years, Norwich’s Maddermarket Theatre has been home to our city’s community theatre. In this mock Elizabethan Grade II listed building is an intimate 310-seater theatre and studio, where classic plays, family favourites, Shakespearean sonnets and more are performed.
From ruby red chairs, look out across this small but carefully crafted staging and hear every word spoken beneath its vaulted ceiling. And this Christmas, you certainly won’t want to miss out on the action of Treasure Island! For anyone looking for a festive family show, you’ve found it.
Here, we speak to Director Sabrina Poole about this cleverly choreographed pirate adventure, full of humour, secrets and sword fighting!
The Maddermarket’s intimate stage offers an incredible view and the vaulted ceiling, some amazing acoustics!
Theatre in all its forms is magical and exciting and has the potential to inspire people in so many different ways.
Community groups like the Norwich Players play a vital role in creating this magic – allowing people to not just see theatre but get involved and be a part of it. It provides a space to forge strong relationships and push yourself out of your comfort zone whilst working alongside people who share your passion and your joy.
For audiences, community theatre offers a chance to witness local talent and experience high-quality performances without the hefty price tag. At a time when ticket prices continue to rise, groups like the Norwich Players prove that theatre can be both affordable and diverse – making the arts accessible to everyone.
Christmas stories aren’t just about snow, Santa and presents, they’re also about adventure. And you can’t get much more adventurous than Treasure Island!
My first experience of the story was Muppet’s Treasure Island. From there I read the book, saw adaptations on both screen and stage and always loved how exciting it was. I wanted a show for this Christmas that had a bit of everything; that was going to make both children and adults feel excited and inspired.
Treasure Island encompasses that – we’ve got everything from puppeteering to live music to sword fighting!
It is a dark and stormy night. Jim, the innkeeper’s granddaughter, opens the door to a foreboding stranger with dark tales to tell. This old sailor brings with him a sea-chest that hides secrets, secrets that other, more dangerous men are searching for. Jim invites him in – and the adventure begins.
Treasure Island is a tale of heroes and baddies, pirates and sword fights. It’s a classic for the whole family!
Treasure Island is packed with action and adventure
It’s a family show, so suitable for everyone to enjoy! As you might expect when there are pirates involved, we have baddies and sword fights aplenty, so we recommend children of 8+, but younger ones can come at their parents’ discretion.
As for tickets, you can purchase them on our website or visit or call our Box Office!
Our two fight directors and I started work in early September to come up with some ideas of what we could do. We wanted the fights to be thrilling but also true to the characters’ styles and capabilities. So, we’ve got sections where characters are fighting with two swords running alongside everything from rolling pins to mops!
Since then, we’ve been developing the choreography in rehearsals to suit the space and the actors, and I guarantee it’ll be a fan favourite part of the show. We’ve also got live musician, Ian Gibson, who will be leading us on our sea shanties and underscoring the show. He brings a wonderful additional element to the production.
Costume is one of my favourite parts! It’s amazing how it transforms the actors and really helps them find their characters.
I usually start by sending our wardrobe mistress, Amanda, a breakdown of all the characters and the specifics of what they need from their costume, along with my thoughts on inspirations, colours, fabrics and more. From there, Amanda pulls out different options and we start building up the costumes!
Treasure Island is a great show to costume. As we want it to be fun and bold, we have the room to be really creative!
Norwich’s historic Maddermarket Theatre is perfect for discovering affordable and varied plays
The Maddermarket has a fantastic line up for 2026, with everything from classic tales to modern, small cast dramas.
I’m thrilled to be directing again with an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, so obviously I’m a little biased towards that, but the Players Committee have given us a great range of plays.
It’s particularly lovely to see a programme that reaches out to different groups. The return of our collaboration with Crude Apache shows how groups can work together to create good theatre, while Shakespeare in Strangers’ Hall’s garden links us up with our wonderful neighbour. And then there are also plays that speak to experience and current matters in Breaking the Code which performs during Norwich Pride week.
You can book tickets for the Maddermarket Theatre’s Treasure Island via their website or Box Office! Treasure Island runs from 19 December – 3 January 2026 from £12.
And if you want to explore this historic theatre, find out more about their tours by calling 01603 620917 or emailing [email protected]!
