S & A Stage Production


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Posted by Mike Dennis on January 01, 2012 at 08:06:05 user MTD.

On New Year’s Day afternoon More 4 (one of the digital TV channels in the UK) have shown, back to back, the documentaries about the creation of the Bristol Old Vic production ‘Swallows and Amazons’ and the National Theatre production of Michael Morpurgo’s ‘War Horse’.

When the Old Vic production of S&A was first proposed I posted here at some length about what I thought would be the difficulties of such a stage version, and what to me seemed some very odd ideas and values.

Through circumstance and intention I have not seen the production, and have had no inclination to do so. Now having seen the documentary I am even less inclined to see it and have had all my misgivings and doubts confirmed.

The very notion of creating a musical (or musical theatre) from a classic work of literature (some not familiar with AR would probably dismiss it as such though possibly agree it is classic children’s literature) has always been to me an odd one. At a far more populist level what was ever gained by converting ‘Pygmalion’ in to ‘My Fair Lady’ or ‘Oliver Twist’ in to ‘Oliver’?

Worse than this ruination of the book, the Old Vic production uses S&A as a foundation and then proceeds to change and distort the story to create what it needs. S&A is a serious novel in the main, yet scenes and sub-plots seem to have been changed in ways that undermine the original work. For example, Titty’s night alone when she sees the two burglars bury Captain Flint’s trunk they have stolen from the houseboat (which in the production has now become a sailing vessel) is presented as a dream sequence involving two trunks being buried by four pirates dressed in eighteenth century costume (in the manner of Johnny Depp in 'Pirates of Caribbean'.) This ‘comic’ costuming is repeated in the Captain Flint walking the plank scene, and his surfacing from the lake is played for ‘laughs’.

The casting of the production is very questionable (and as before I will not get involved in a long discussion over the matter of using a black actor, only to say that it still appears to be nothing but a misguided gesture of equality and political correctness at the expense of the original work.) Getting adults to portray children is not a new idea, but to be successful it has to be convincing and this was not – men with beards, mismatched ages are just two of the issues.

Any theatrical production of a work such as S&A will have a major problem when much of it takes place in boats on the water (in the 1980s Alan Ackybourn set his play 'Way Upstream' on a holiday cruiser – in the manner of the Hullabaloos – a setting that required the building of a massive water tank in the National Theatre in London, which was prone to leaks and so delayed in the opening night.) The Old Vic attempts to overcome this difficulty with suggestive props and puppetry, most of which, judging by what was shown in the documentary, fail to convince. This was brought in to stark contrast when watching the War Horse documentary immediately afterwards – the puppet horse are convincing as horses from the first sight of them.

The 1974 film of S&A has on this forum often been criticised for its plot, casting and failing to follow the original work. Though, as I have previously posted, on a recent viewing of it I was pleasantly surprised and reminded what a good film it was. Those of you following Sophie Neville’s blog expanding on her childhood diary of the making of the film, will have learnt more about it and I hope, like me, now have a better appreciation of it and the problems the producers had in achieving its authenticity.

In comparison with the 1974 film the Old Vic stage production at best can only be described as an embarrassment, a travesty of a much respected and enjoyed work. It is depressing that most of the press reviews in the UK have been favourable, but it is worth noting that in many the reviewer admits to either not having read the book or actively disliking it.

I first read S&A nearly fifty years ago, and have over the years occasionally re-read it. In the age of the Internet it has enabled me to discover and explore AR's work to a depth I would have never previously imagined. Consequently, I have, as I am sure others have, become very protective of the books but would support any moves to widen their popularity. I post this in that spirit.

[For anyone who would like to see the documentaries they are being shown again on More 4 at 2.10am tomorrow morning (2nd) with the War Horse one first and the S&A at 3.15am.]


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