A new production of Kidnapped will trace the flight of David Balfour around Scotland in the course of a lengthy tour in October and November, but MARK FISHER finds that adapting Stevenson’s classic adventure novel for the stage has its problems.

THIS ADAPTATION of the Robert Louis Stevenson thriller has come in for some criticism because of its design. And I'd agree with some other reviewers that Robin Peoples has devised one of those clever sets that are better in theory than in practice. It's a number of curved wooden boxes that fit inside each other and open up to form a whole variety of exteriors, interiors and landscapes. One minute it's a stately home, the next it's a ship at sea.
 
So far, so ingenious, but it has two shortcomings. One is that it takes time to rearrange the pieces, slowing the pace of the performance. The other is that it restricts the actors' space for creativity: the designer has done all the imaginative work for them.
 
But that's not entirely the problem in this co-production by Perth Theatre and Mull Theatre. Peoples' set does, at least, reconfigure itself quite efficiently. It’s more to do with the adaptation by Robert Paterson and Alasdair McCrone. They have, of course, charged themselves with a fearsome task: to condense into a couple of hours this epic adventure about the young David Balfour and his attempt to claim his inheritance, hampered by abduction, clan warfare and the Scottish landscape.
 
But their version of the story is uneven. It veers between scenes that are so short that they are over by the time you've worked out what's going on and others that are dragged down by long and undramatic exposition. It makes for a bumpy ride.
 
The result is that ideas that should have given the evening a theatrical spark – such as the set and the continued presence of John Davidson on violin – start to seem fussy and uneconomical. Things aren't helped by Simon Sewell's gloomy lighting design that casts most faces – and some whole scenes – in shadow.
 
I'd like to say that the large and spirited company of actors rises above these distractions but, such is the nature of adaptations for the stage, few of them have parts big enough to get their teeth into. Andrew Clark does bring a fair swagger to the role of Alan Stewart, the lawless clan chief, but there's little tension when playing against David Fitzgerald's uncharismatic interpretation of Balfour. The character might be naive, stuck up and conservative, but that shouldn't account for so flat a performance.
 
 
Kidnapped can be seen at the following Highland venues:
Tuesday 7 October 2003 at Town Hall, Inverurie
Wednesday 8 October at Town Hall, Elgin
Monday 13 October at McPhail Centre, Ullapool
Tuesday 14 October at Village Hall, Lochinver
Wednesday 15 October at Lyth Arts Centre-in-Exile, Ross Institute, Hallkirk
Thursday 16 October at Village Hall, Durness
Friday 17 October at Carnegie Hall, Clashmore
Saturday 18 October at Ardross Hall
Monday 20 October at Arainn Shuaineirt, Strontian
Tuesday 21 October at Bunessan Hall, Isle of Mull
Thursday 23 October at Pavilion, Rothesay, Isle of Bute
Friday 24 October at Ramsey Hall, Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
Saturday 25 October at Public Hall, Ardrishaig
Monday 27 October at Victoria Halls, Campbeltown
Tuesday 28 October at Gibson Hall, Garelochhead
Monday 3 November at Community Hall, Mallaig
Tuesday 4 November at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle fo Skye
Wednesday 5 November at Community Hall, Nethy Bridge
Thursday 6 November at Village Hall, Ballachulish
Friday 7-Saturday 8 November at Corran Halls, Oban
 
 
© Mark Fisher, 2003