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The Propagandic Nature of Robin Hood and His Crew of Soldiers

This adaptation of Robin Hood and His Crew of Soldiers is not only wildly different from

other Robin Hood plays and ballads, but it is a far cry from the original text of this play. The

adapters did not choose to do this without grounds as the overtly propagandic nature of this play

allows for a parody as it is even described as a comedy on the original play ballot. The

modernized, slang-heavy speech of the actors stems from the fact that as propaganda, the original

play-write diverted from the structure and language of the earlier ballads to a play mostly

consisting of ideological speeches. The absence of action informed this adaptation to make it

appear as if the characters are merely “hanging out.” Because propagandic liberties were taken to

flip Robin Hood’s way of life contrary to the outlaw he is in the well-established ballads, the

actors justly took many liberties with diction and content removal while still following the

general plot and ideas. In the same way the original writer applied the figure of Robin Hood to

the contemporary political and social climate, the modern adapters applied the most general plot

of the play to a modern climate exemplifying how socially prevalent mythological figures adapt

with the centuries.

Robin Hood and His Crew of Souldiers is deliberately and obviously pro-royal

propaganda. Besides the fact that the forward to the play states it, the play’s motives become

absolutely clear with Robin makes the decision to obey the crown. The first majority of the play

portrays Robin as his typical stubborn, rebellious character but the first indication that this Robin

is out of the ordinary is the heavy use of speech. There is not one bit of action in this play, which

is the long-established way Robin chooses to solve dilemmas. Instead Robin and his merry men,

here called “crew of souldiers” to portray them as more menacing, talk out their dilemma of
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whether or not to follow the King in long, dramatic speeches. His resort to violence is a chief

part of his character- it shows his wildness, and to have him strictly discuss a solution goes

against his usual methods as well as signaling that he is already more civilized than other plays.

The decision Robin arrives at is the most blatant proof of his new, contrary character as he

suddenly and absolutely decides to swear his allegiance to the crown. The play acknowledges

this suddenness and so does the filmed adaptation. The play acknowledges it to undermine

Robin’s intelligence and show how outlaws do not even hold steady to the little principle they

have and the filmed adaptation acknowledges it to highlight how nonsensical the play is. In both

cases, the tale given in this play and it’s adaptation use propaganda to justify the dramatic

difference to other tales involving Robin Hood.

The lack of action stems from the fact that this play is propaganda and in order to pay

homage to more traditional Robin Hood tales, the adapters display action during the title

sequence. While the action looks back to the traditional tales, the song in the title sequence

makes up for the loss of the poetic part spoken by Robin as an opener as well as the ending song.

The song chosen by the adapters is “Number One” performed by Portugal. The Man. The

chanting of the word “freedom” in the song once again reflects what Robin Hood and his gang

valued in earlier tales and being in the title sequence, this song represents the usual portrayal of

Robin apart from the plot of this play as the title sequence is not entirely part of the plot in the

adaptation. Instead of being essential to the storyline, the title sequence serves to show what

there once was in tales of Robin Hood- action and debauchery. The missing action is represented

when the actors jump down from a ledge (represented as a bench in the film) and then move to a

close-up to prove that they are daring and a gang. Debauchery is represented by the overall

humorous nature of the title sequence; in one scene the actor playing William eats a handful of
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leaves. Instead of showing the “highlights” of the film, the title sequence shows what will not be

in the plot (aside from humor) to mislead viewers in a way similar to how the play, when first

released is opposite of what viewers expected.

The tone of the filmed adaptation absolutely seems at odds with the play. The adaptation

uses modern, “low-brow” language and cheesy over-dramatization while the play consists of

principled speeches that are truly dramatic. The actor portraying Robin best shows over-

dramatization; she wears a cape over her head in the way a moody kid of our times hides behind

a hoodie or long hair and in speech takes advantage of dramatic pauses and over exaggerated

emotions. This portrayal of Robin stays true to the traditional character often depicted in a hood

and as a leader who while a good fighter, is more of a giver of orders needing constant

assistance.

The actor portraying Little John is known as “Lil’ Jon” after the rapper with a string of 2000s

hits now seen as nostalgic, yet corny. The change to Lil Jon reflects modern sensibilities but also

associates the play with the rapper’s music and highlights the important nostalgic, yet corny

aspects of most Robin Hood plays as well. Lil Jon is the character least changed from the

traditional myths in this play as he is still Robin’s voice of reason with the most steady emotions,

and the most reluctant to swear allegiance to the King. The actor in the filmed adaptation also

plays Little John as the most principled, mentioning Marxism-an entrance into more modern

times again, gender equality, and the breakdown of the rigid social structure. The slang and

profanities in the filmed adaptation are a far departure from the beautiful prose speeches in the

play, but represents the comedic aspect of the play. The comedy of the play is not obvious slap-

stick as traditional ballads are, but comedic in its language so the unpolished language of the
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adaptation works in this way. The profanities are another way the adaptors attempt to keep the

integrity of the Robin’s well known rebellious nature.

The propagandic nature of this play sets it apart from the accepted mythology which

allows the adapters to drastically depart from the play to try and sustain some of Robin’s usual

traits for purposes of integrity. The insertion of some action does this, but is still removed

enough from the plot of the original play. Robin keeps his important identifying factor, his hood,

yet Little John is renamed to both express modernity and traditionalism. The way the adaptation

sets off aspects of the traditional mythology against the play’s propaganda and against the

modernized portrayal of Robin shows how if a mythic figure is to remain culturally prevalent, it

changes with the times to remain relevant, yet still holds on to the essential aspects. In the case of

Robin Hood, the character’s most essential aspect is rebellion and this original play, Robin Hood

and His Crew of Souldiers, unashamedly contrasts this allowing for bold adaptations and re-

workings in order to keep it as a piece of the broad myth.