regshoe: Black and white illustration of a man swinging from a rope below the bow of a ship; illustration from 'Kidnapped' by Louis Rhead (Alan)
[personal profile] regshoe
Thanks very much to [personal profile] sanguinity for sending me the link to this... so apparently, the National Theatre of Scotland are putting on an adaptation of Kidnapped with canon Alan/Davie next year.

My feelings about this are, er, somewhat mixed. To begin with I am boggling, first at the fact that a respectable major theatre company are making a mainstream actual adaptation that makes a non-canonical m/m ship canon, and secondly at how casually they're announcing it—there's no 'wow, look, they're making it gay!' about that article, it's just one of several things about the production described. Perhaps my expectations are stuck too far in the past! In any case, it's a lovely and cheering thing to see and I'm very glad.

...and I could still wish it was happening to a ship and canon I didn't care about quite so much, because of course, on the other hand, there is my general belief that adaptations are bad and disappointing and mostly to be avoided. On the third hand, this is theatre rather than film or TV, and it seems to me that a stage adaptation is less susceptible to some of the pitfalls of screen adaptations, and that in any case theatre seems... less definite? less direct? in a way that'll make it easier to disassociate from the book and see as its own thing. And this production does sound like they're taking quite a few liberties with mood, style and trappings, which will help with that.

Well then, so that leaves the question of should I go and see it??? I absolutely could—it'd mean a certain amount of travel, but not an impossible amount. And of course being theatre, it's time-limited and you have to go and see it now if you're going to see it at all, I can't muddle about and indecisively avoid a commitment like I've been doing with the Flight of the Heron TV series for three years... Well, I'll give it some more thought, but I really think I might...

Anyway! Thoughts? Reactions? Anyone else want to go and see it? (with me, if I do go?)...

Date: Sep. 29th, 2022 04:58 am (UTC)
sovay: (Morell: quizzical)
From: [personal profile] sovay
Anyone else want to go and see it? (with me, if I do go?)...

I'd be fascinated, but only if they stream it!

(Notes like "in the role of a spirit guide to the protagonist" and "denim-clad Americana, late 90s love songs, art rock, protest anthems, 80s synth-pop, Gaelic folk song and more" suggests to me that there is no way that this version will supplant the construction of Kidnapped inside your head. Even if you hate it, it shouldn't interfere.)

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