| A theatrical adaptation of the beloved 1995 book about the UK’s ‘public face and private parts’ is both an account of national identity and a tribute to a national treasure In 2018, I received an email from the producer Simon Friend, inquiring if I was familiar with Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island. (Boy, was I.) A few coffees and a curry later, Simon had commissioned me to adapt one of his – and many other people’s – favourite books as a theatre piece. Once the storm surge of impostor syndrome had abated, I began to appreciate the exigencies of the job-in-hand: to transform a bestselling 379-page travelogue examining Britain’s “public face and private parts” into a two-act play. Immersing myself in all things Bryson, I reread Notes and its equally engaging 2015 sequel, The Road to Little Dribbling, and gorged on podcasts and interviews to reacquaint myself with the author’s characteristic tone. Though I was intent on emulating the original book, it seemed equally important to convey the essence of a national treasure – his charm, wit and occasional rants. Thrillingly, just as I’d finished reading The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, Bryson’s joyful account of his Iowa childhood, the man himself agreed to meet with our team to discuss the adaptation. (Yes, he still totes a rucksack.) Notes from a Small Island is at the Watermill theatre, Newbury, 3 February to 18 March Continue reading... |
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