Discover Treasure at the Rose (From Surrey Comet)

Discover Treasure at the Rose

12:48pm Wednesday 4th November 2009

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This year, Christmas in Kingston will all be about pirates, pieces of eight and swashbuckling adventure as the Rose Theatre brings Treasure Island to life.

Karen Louise Hebden adapted last year’s family show A Christmas Carol for the Rose stage and she has repeated the trick in coming up with a theatrical version Robert Louis Stevenson’s beloved book – an adaptation that was first performed at the Derby Playhouse in 2007.

“I have done a number of other adaptations but this one was easier in a way because it is such a fantastic story and there is so much of it,” she says.

“It is about trying to get the spirit of the book onto the stage and being as truthful and respectful to it as possible.”

And what about Long John Silver – is it tricky finding a new way of presenting such a familiar character?

“Of course, there are all the clichés of the one leg and the parrot which you just have to have embrace and he will be there in all his glory,” says Hebden. “But people have the impression that Long John Silver is a baddy but he is a very complex character.

“There is a fantastic build-up to his appearance and there is all the stuff about ‘beware, the one-legged man’, but when he shows up he is charming and, hopefully, that will throw people off balance.”

Long John Silver apart, Stevenson’s book contains a number of dark elements, including frightening characters, sword fights and, ultimately, death – and Hebden has not let her version shy away from them.

“There is a point where the story takes off and you just have to do it and you hope you have taken the kids with you far enough that they just go with it,” Hebden says.

“The Rose has put a minimum age of six on the show and my argument to parents would be, know your children and whether they will cope.

“The central character is a young boy and that is something for the kids to really get hold of.

“To get himself out of the adventure he has to kill and you have to do that. The exciting thing is to then be able to talk to your children afterwards and discuss all kinds of issues.”

But as it is a festive family show, Hebden says, it was also important to provide plenty of light relief.

“It is a big serious book and the danger is that it becomes too heavy, so there are comic characters and songs, which I think kids love at Christmas.”

Treasure Island, Rose Theatre, Kingston, December 11 to January 9, visit rosetheatrekingston.org for further information.

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