After the huge success of Pride And Prejudice* (*sort of), which scooped an Olivier Award, it’s hardly surprising that National Theatre Of Scotland came knocking on writer and director Isobel McArthur’s door for their latest commission. This time, she’s adapting a classic of Scottish literature, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, collaborating again with her Pride And Prejudice partner Michael John McCarthy, one of Scotland’s most dynamic composers for theatre. McArthur’s distinctive approach to familiar novels is iconoclastic, vibrant and, above all, engaging; her use of music drags what could be a nostalgic and sentimental retelling of a familiar old tale towards an immediate, contemporary relevance.

^{Isobel McArthur and Michael John McCarthy / Picture: James Chapelard}

‘It was a good choice of novel to adapt for National Theatre Of Scotland because it is a Stevenson book that is about Scotland and Scottishness,’ explains McArthur. Of course, she quickly discovered an imaginative way into the dramaturgy. ‘In the copy that I got, the introduction was written by his wife: it became clear that it was her idea to write the book! And she was a bad-ass Johnny Cash-like figure: his protector and carer, and she edited his work. Her life was a huge adventure, and you can see where her life story mapped onto the novel. I thought she would make a fantastic narrator for our adaptation.’

McCarthy admits his delight at working with McArthur again. ‘I loved the chance to read the novel and speak to Isobel about its story,’ he says. ‘We made decisions collaboratively about which story beats should be in; how do you keep the core of the story but make sure it’s accessible to an audience? I think that her genius is an ability to understand a story, and to be somehow faithful and irreverent at the same time; it is really remarkable.’

^{Kidnapped rehearsals / Picture: Julie Howden}

By working closely with McCarthy, McArthur ensured that music was placed at the heart of the production. With an ensemble of ten (‘nine can play instruments,’ says McCarthy, ‘and all ten can sing!’) and the facilities offered by NTS, this Kidnapped promises a spectacle of scale and imagination. ‘We are blessed with a talented cast,’ McArthur admits. ‘And I’m able to be far better resourced, so I can take the technical possibility of the show much higher; in that respect, I feel very spoilt in what we have got to work with. It is all live music, dance sequences, all the actors playing the instruments. There’s lots to look at and enjoy.’

Much of the emotive power and humour in Pride And Prejudice’s retelling came from the cunning use of popular songs. Not only did these throw Jane Austen’s period drama into relief, they recognised how even apparently throwaway tunes retain an emotional resonance. With McCarthy ‘co-building’ this latest production, Kidnapped has an eclectic soundtrack. ‘There’s a real combination of music,’ says McArthur. ‘The pop music owes a lot to the 1980s.’ McCarthy adds that sourcing an authentic 1980s synthesizer sound was crucial; alongside the acoustic guitars, bass and accordion, there is a DX7 on stage. ‘The music world of the narrator is a lot more Americana standards, and some Scottish folk music,’ he says. ‘It is a real mix, wonderfully so.’ 

^{Picture: Laurence Winram}

Kidnapped is known as an all-action adventure, racing across Scotland and showcasing Stevenson’s stylish prose and skill at conjuring melodramatic excitement. With Ryan J Mackay as Davie Balfour and Malcolm Cumming playing Alan Breck Stewart, the source material’s fervour should be maintained. This production, however, draws on another element. ‘I was surprised at how fun it was,’ confesses McCarthy. ‘Stevenson is witty! Brilliantly intelligent but not afraid to be silly; he is a good pairing with Isobel. There are some really silly bits in Kidnapped, the book; and certainly in this adaptation.’

As an NTS production, it seems that Kidnapped speaks both to the literary and cultural history of Scotland. But it rejects the simple nostalgic view of our past, determined to offer a contemporary narrative that is entertaining, playing with both the novel’s conventions and an idea of ‘the musical’. As McCarthy says of McArthur’s work: ‘it’s always so heartfelt, and this show subverts what people expect when they watch an adaptation of Kidnapped.’

Kidnapped is on tour from Tuesday 28 March–Saturday 20 May.