Robert Louis Stevenson lived only 44 years and died 125 years ago, yet manages to personify today’s Scotland. Creator of Treasure Island, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, A Child’s Garden of Verses and more, he was witty and whimsical, broad minded and boastful, hilarious and humane, conflicted and charismatic. Always on, always fun – wherever he was, was a place you wanted to be. Just like Scotland.

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Hailing from Australia, Scots native Neil Adam (once a Silly Wizard) has set a raft of the great man’s poetry to music, and with his partner Judy Turner (Australia’s legend of Scottish fiddle music) has created a show that travels with Stevenson from Heriot Row in the New Town to Edinburgh University, from Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes to the Susquehanna, and finally to his home in Samoa. A surprise hit of the 2019 Fringe The Robert Louis Stevenson Show charmed a string of sell out audiences at the Scottish Storytelling Centre last August.

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The show is built around songs – in turn, a gorgeous combination of Stevenson’s sparkling poetry and Adam’s beautiful melodies. With excerpts from his letters, journals and publications, you’ll also hear the words of Fanny, his wife, Nellie, his sister-in-law, Sidney Colvin, his great friend, and literary giants of the Victorian era like Mark Twain, JM Barrie and Henry James. Images (mostly from the Stevenson archives) add to the sense of being there, with the family, through their struggles and joys, from the UK to France, from the US to Samoa.

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“The performance is a joy – beautifully engaging, full of fascinating information about the
life of Robert Louis Stevenson. This is intimate storytelling, as if we've been invited into a
welcoming sitting room, with the audience informed and entertained in equal measure.
What more could we ask for!”
Gerda Stevenson

 

"One of this year's early Fringe highlights" The Scotsman

“A ‘Treasure Island’ of a show….Touching, compelling and humorous”.
3WeeksinEdinburgh.com

 

"A sell-out success of our 2019 Edinburgh Fringe program",   Scottish Storytelling Centre

“Affectionate and heart-warming”
Jim Gilchrist, The Scotsman

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