Adrian Dunbar plays Ebenezer and Alexander Balfour
"Ebenezer's a sad old mean-spirited bachelor. I think what he
represents is that simple thing that you can have all the money and
land in the world but if you don't have love, or the notion of what
love is, it's all totally worthless." - Adrian Dunbar
Actor and writer Adrian Dunbar had no hesitation in accepting the dual
roles of brothers Ebenezer and Alexander Balfour in the 麻豆社 adaptation
of Kidnapped:
"I thought 'This is a great script' so I had no problems saying yes."
Dunbar hadn't read the classic Stevenson novel but had read and enjoyed
the writer's poetry as a child.
He was immediately attracted by the pivotal role of Ebenezer Balfour,
the embittered uncle whose betrayal of Davie Balfour is the catalyst
for the boy's adventures:
"The part of Ebenezer really appealed to me. It really appealed to
me playing a definite character with a definite physicality; how he
sounded, what he looked like.
"It's a challenge to play outside my normal accent so it's a challenge
on many levels.
"I was also very aware that I had the opportunity of giving the story
a good start. In all great yarns there comes a point where, as an audience,
we realise the territory the story is going to take you into. In a way
Ebenezer is the first really three-dimensional character you come across.
He sets the stage for the whole story."
Dunbar is clearly relishing playing a larger-than-life character in
the 'boy's own story' of Kidnapped:
"When I was a child I liked that business of being thrilled and repelled
at the same time. That's what I'm trying to achieve with Ebenezer. [Director
Brendan Maher] is hitting the same pitch - heightened reality."
The novelty of playing a dual role was also an attraction:
"Then there was also that wonderful opportunity of playing two characters,
the father and Ebenezer very close together. That really appealed to
me."
Like all good villains Ebenezer is given the chance to redeem himself
at the end of the story when an older, wiser Davie returns to settle
a few old scores:
"The adults arrive and suddenly Ebenezer's not so scary because he's
dealing with adults and Davie's not a boy anymore. Like all tyrants,
Ebenezer's a coward."
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