Arts Troubleshooters - BBC2

[BDS48]

I only caught the last ten minutes of this programme which was screened on BBC2 at 7.20 this evening - but thought it would be of interest to forum members watching the repeat on BBC i-player.

Blurb: Arts Troubleshooter - [i]Arts expert Michael Lynch draws on his experience to help bring long-term financial stability to the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmonds - the UK's only working Regency theatre.[/i]

Andrew Motion's "Silver: The Return to Treasure Island"

http://secure.theatreroyal.org/PEO/site ... s&sc=11946

I'd like to think there's some relevance anyway - if only in period and the cultural relevance of Stevenson's work. The broader question, I suppose, is how accurate is Stevenson's Treasure Island and the period in which it was actually written and meant to be set? Wiki provides some useful background to the book which might be used or improved upon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_Island

Cheers
Dave

[TheBibliophile]

To my great shame, I don't think I've ever read treasure island, although as I'm a sucker for all period things and a big reader, maybe I should...it seems to be set somewhere around 1780 as it mentions some real life historical characters from that time...

[BDS48]

I must confess that I last read the book when I was about 10 years old some forty years ago - along with the The Master of Ballantrae by Stevenson and Moonfleet by J. Meade Faulkner. Both books were written long after the period in which the story was set (1880s to 1890s and c. 1740s to 1750s). I imagine that the names mentioned in Treausure Island help to lend the book some authenticity in what might be termed 'historical fiction.' A book for children and adults alike I think - and one which fires the imagination!

Another favourite around about that time was YTV's Boy Dominic, which co-starred the extremely loud, but always entertaining, Brian Blessed. I can still remember one of the lines from the series: " What does tha want, Woodcock?" For me, Brian Blessed will be forever "Woodcock"

Dave