December in Edinburgh can certainly have you dreaming of sunnier shores. When what little daylight there is comes shrouded in thick cloud and thicker drizzle, the thermometer scrapes zero and the wind knifes straight through you, the promise of sun, sand and palm trees waving in a gentle breeze has its appeal. A perfect time then, you’d think, for the Royal Lyceum to stage Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic romp Treasure Island, largely set as it is on a balmy tropical island.
Think again, for this telling of young Jim Hawkins’ (Jade Chan) treasure-hunting adventures with the dangerous Lean Jean Silver (Amy Conachan) and other pirates has been relocated to the Orkneys. Instead of a steamy tropical paradise we get North Sea storms, brochs and the odd puffin. The relocation is both apt given Stevenson’s Scottishness and a fun idea; the scene painting a picture of the Port of Leith as a jumping off point for the voyage is inspired.
The play is at its best in such scene-setting set pieces, which particularly in the first half both build atmosphere and move the plot neatly along. As the cast and crew conjure up life aboard the ship The Hispaniola or the animals crowding the busy shore of the eponymous treasure island (here named Dead Skerry, in one of several terrible/brilliant puns), the stage comes to life.
A cello becomes a ship crossing a stormy sea, complete with its bow for a mast. Several times the whole stage appears to be plunged underwater, and we join puffins flying through the waves. Almost anything is used as a boat, from buckets to tea trolleys. The whole audience becomes absorbed in the clever stage-craft and roars with laughter at the humorous asides.
As the play goes on, it does lose some of its focus. The second half becomes a series of chaotic stage fights, each less comprehensible than the last. Characters change their motivations seemingly on a whim, and Dead Skerry has none of the atmospheric power of the original book’s island.
Despite this, much of McLean’s writing is witty and sharp. Lean Jean Silver makes a timely point about the fine line between pirates and lairds – the one upper-class character is presented as a dopey fop and pilloried as such. There is also a distinctly anti-consumerist message in the play’s denouement, which stands in pleasant contrast to the slightly frenzied vibe in Princes Street and the Christmas market outside.
The cast deliver their lines with all the enthusiasm and gusto appropriate to a Christmas story. Chan and Conachan make for a fine double act in the twin lead roles of Jim and Silver. TJ Holmes brings the slapstick as the laird who helps Jim get to the treasure island while Itxaso Moreno is a fabulously physical performer and Tim Dalling’s Ben Gunn is entertainingly surreal.
Perhaps strongest in the cast is Dylan Read, switching smoothly from playing the unsettling Blind Pew, puppeteering a charismatic flying puffin, conjuring a crab from a butter dish and generally gurning piratically. Whether eliciting laughs or alarm, Read’s is a fine performance.
For those familiar with the book, Treasure Island might not immediately call to mind Christmas fun. However, writer McLean, director Wils Wilson and the cast between them have created a rollicking Christmas tale from Stevenson’s classic adventure.
Performed at The Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
Runs until Saturday 4 January, various times – check website for details
Running time: 2 hours, including interval
Written by Duncan McLean after Robert Louis Stevenson
Directed by Wils Wilson
Designer: Alex Berry
Sound Designer: Parasol Wu
Lighting Designer: Colin Grenfell
Composer: Tim Dalling
Cast: Amy Conachan, Jade Chan, Tim Dalling, TJ Holmes, Itxaso Moreno, Dylan Read