THE MOONSTONE – A NEW DRAMATIC VERSIONOver the years there have been relatively few dramatic texts of Wilkie’s works. A welcome addition is Michael Theodorou’s recent version of The Moonstone published as part of Nelson Dramascriptswww.nelson.co.uk; ISBN 0-17-432553-3. The series is actually designed for students in the lower and middle years of secondary school and plays are designed to be either read or acted. The format consists of an introduction; the script itself; notes; activities such as discussion, improvisation and artwork; and a retrospective look at the play with further activities. The Moonstone is an exciting addition to the series and keeps nicely to the spirit of Collins’s original – unlike a certain television version. Act 1, ‘The Loss of the Diamond’, contains 32 scenes and Act 2, ‘The Discovery of the Truth’, a further 20. There are certainly copious notes, although being aimed at a more junior audience, most will be rather elementary for WCS members. In the author’s words, “The Moonstone presents a daunting task…what do you leave out…it seems impossible to exclude any strands for fear of missing out essential detail.” The author’s own concept is “to tell the story as swiftly as possible and to focus on the one vital question: Who stole the Moonstone?” Wilkie would have approved of this approach and probably of this particular version. He had his own problems with dramatising the novel for the stage in 1877 and ended up oversimplifying the plot by omitting Rosanna Spearman, Ezra Jennings and even the Indians. He also restricted the action to a twenty-four hour period and set the play at Rachel Verinder’s country house in Kent rather than Yorkshire. Michael Theodorou’s version does rather better, retaining all of the important characters and keeping to the original locations.
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