Based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, National Theatre of Scotland’s retelling of this boy’s own adventure novel is a fine evening’s entertainment.
Branded on the fliers as a ‘swashbuckling rom-com adventure’, it does do some serious veering around from pantomime to poetic to abstract post modern, to sassy jazz cabaret with a splash of bromance.
As Kim Ismay proclaims following her rousing ‘I’ve been everywhere (man)’ opening musical number, ‘this book is different’.
Kidnapped follows the adventures of youth Davie Balfour, who, following the death of his father leaves the safe dullness of his Borders town to travel to Edinburgh in search of his rich uncle. We are at this point introduced to ‘the boulder’, a cleverly conceived hollowed out stage device which also houses a full drum kit (complete with drummer!). The boulder appears at various points through the production, it is run around, climbed upon and drummed from, and also has living maps projected onto it.
After leaving his boulder behind Davie ends up in all sorts of adventures and shenanigans, from being kidnapped by pirates to teaming up with a Jacobite hero and becoming embroiled in the assassination of Colin “the Fox” Campbell.
The singing and narration are very much led by Robert Louis Stephenson’s wife Francis, played with sassy stage presence by stand out performer Kim Ismay. Laying on her American accent and singing voice in a Grand Old Opry style she also provides a fascinating insight into her life with Mr Stephenson. Apparently hated by his parents for being American, divorced with three children, the older woman and strong enough to lift her husband (with one arm!). Francis’ asides which occur throughout the play are often poetic and rather beautiful and play not always harmoniously against the much more simplified child-like retelling of Stevenson’s tale.
The play is co-written by Isobel McArthur and Michael John McCarthy and follows roughly the same formula as their wildly successful hit show, Pride and Prejudice (sort of). A loose rendering of the subject matter, with a healthy dose of music and humour thrown in and love story, to boot, between the two heros, Davie Balfour and Jacobite Alan Breck Stewart, convincingly portrayed by Ryan J MacKay and Malcolm Cumming.
Despite the frantic pace of this piece there are also moments of eerily poetic stillness or post modern absurdity. The opening of Act two is a particular highlight setting a beautifully staged underwater scene to the song ‘Don’t give up’. I also loved Clunnies hermit cave gambling den scene in the second half to strains of ‘Pick up the Pieces’ morphing into a very jazzed up rendition of ‘The Gambler’. Lighting, sound and set are excellent throughout and all imaginatively used to keep things moving forward.
This is a clever, thought-provoking and fun-packed adaptation of an old adventure classic, full of heart and great music and humour, which will appeal to a wide audience. Catch it while you can.
Playing until 22nd April, https://lyceum.org.uk/
Reviewer: Greg Holstead
Reviewed: 11th April 2023
North West End UK Rating: ★★★★
Running Time: 2hrs 15 Minutes Including 15 minute Interval