Kidnapped @ Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh

From the award-winning team that brought us Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), Kidnapped is described as a swashbuckling romcom – but it is so much more. Isobel McArthur and Michael John McCarthy's adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel is a riotous, heartfelt, and deeply emotional love story for every era.

Kim Ismay narrates beautifully as Frances "Fanny" Van de Grift Osbourne Stevenson, Louis's exceedingly compelling wife. Ismay's musicality and charisma seamlessly weave together the story of Fanny and Louis's own romance with the story of our protagonist, Davie Balfour (Ryan J MacKay). 

At the heart of the story is the burgeoning romance between Davie and the courageous Jacobite, Alan Breck Stewart (Malcolm Cumming). At first, Davie is swept up in this pirate- and murder-laden adventure against his will, but, soon enough, he finds that all roads lead back to the love of his life. Told through fast-paced comedy and delightful pop covers, the production grabs your attention and holds it. Creative, atemporal design only enhances the whimsy, inviting the audience to partake in the construction of the story. Emily Jane Boyle's movement direction lends the show a purposeful kind of beauty, with innovative projections and stunning tableaus to match. 

Christina Gordon, Danielle Jam, Karen Young and Kim Ismay on stage in Kidnapped. Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic

Kidnapped is the ideal touring production, and it feels like a true celebration of Scotland. The multi-roling, multi-instrumentalist ensemble is spectacular. Isaac Savage, the show's performing musical director, is a standout; from the Ensemble, Fatima Jawara and Danielle Jam delight as Davie's miserly uncle and his righteous tenant, among many others. 

The production is superbly immersive, save for one moment – thinking himself bereft of his love, Davie arrives at Alan's clan home to find them wearing tartan turbans and burning incense. "Relax," they remind him. It is a parodic portrait of Orientalism, and it yanks me out of the story. I find myself stopping to think – who's the butt of this joke? Perhaps it's nothing – but maybe it's another reminder of the kind of Scotland imagined by the production. In this one choice, the story makes me feel a sharp pang of otherness; Asianness, no matter how abstracted, comes off as a tool of comedy. 

Despite the show's unequivocally comedic bent, the moments of intimacy between Davie and Alan are tense and real. MacKay and Cumming have a natural chemistry that goes below the surface. Their attraction is not played for laughs; instead, I feel drawn into their love, restored by it. Under the surface, Kidnapped depicts queer euphoria, told through the lens of Fanny and Louis's own queer(ed) relationship. It's more than a happy ending – it is a vital reminder that queer love means liberty. 

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Kidnapped, Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh until 22 April; touring to Inverness, Perth, Newcastle and Brighton until 20 May nationaltheatrescotland.com/events/kidnapped