We sat down with theatre-maker Daniel Bye who uses a timeless tale for a new generation in his new take on the legend of Robin Hood, which sees Robin and his teenage Very Merry Band rail against the unfair and unequal system put in place by Prince John at the Theatre Royal Bath this festive season.
Tell us a bit about your adaptation of Robin Hood
This Robin Hood is full of the swashbuckling fun you’d expect from the story with a few twists of its own. At heart it’s about a group of young people, with the odds heavily against them, learning to work together despite their differences. Like lots of people, to start with they’re just trying to get by. But as the story goes on they realise they’re not just fighting to get themselves out of a scrape, but for everyone on the wrong end of the Sheriff’s cruel rule. They’re accidental heroes.
How do you combine the fun of a Christmas show with the serious message about fairness and power in your version of Robin Hood?
Any version of Robin Hood is always already about fairness and power – how else do you interpret robbing from the rich and giving to the poor? – so the only real question in my mind was how far to lean into this. And given that young people are often obsessed with fairness it was a pretty easy decision (I’m actually simultaneously working on another show for young audiences with the title So Unfair so I’ve done my research!). But just because a subject is serious doesn’t mean a story about it can’t be lots of fun – fun is worth more when the stakes are high.
How did you approach adapting such a well-known legend and still make it feel fresh and relevant for today?
It didn’t feel like a stretch to make the story relevant for today. If anything I dialled this down massively! Inequality in the contemporary world is as extreme as it’s ever been and our economic system very much does not give to the poor. A version of Robin Hood could be made that really goes to town on this contemporary relevance. Really hammering away at those resonances just didn’t feel very Christmassy. But they’re there if you want them.
What do you hope young audiences will take away from this new version?
Most of all I hope they’ll have fun. More than that, I hope they’ll feel empowered by it. Adults can take decisions and autonomy away from young people to the extent that they can feel unrepresented and voiceless. The young people at the heart of this story are really backed into a corner, and eventually they decide to do something about that.
Why did you want to stage Robin Hood at the Egg at Theatre Royal Bath?
I’ve always loved The Egg’s Christmas shows precisely because they have a history of balancing the huge fun of the format with a willingness to tell the truth about the world.
Do you have a favourite line from the show?
This is a bit like asking me to choose a favourite between my children. What if I choose one and the others hear?!
Robin Hood runs at the Egg at Theatre Royal Bath from the 29th November – 11th January. More information and tickets here:https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk/events/robin-hood/