QUEST - THE LEGEND OF THE GREEN KNIGHT. To 3 January.
London
QUEST THE LEGEND OF THE GREEN KNIGHT
by Carolyn Spedden
Clapham Common To 3 January 2005
Mon-Sat 7.30pm
Runs 2hr 15min One interval
TICKETS: 020 7482 0115
Review: Timothy Ramsden 22 December
A show that cuts the cackle and gets to the hosses.This is Arthurian legend for the post-Dungeons and Dragons generation, down to the gothic script in the programme (I hope I've transcribed the names correctly). Nothing wrong with that. Carolyn Spedding's script catches the mood of Arthurian legend, injecting a sense of disenchantment with the Camelot ideal, its inhabitants falling short of their supposed standards of conduct.
If anything needs strengthening it's the verbal humour, which is difficult in the vast, though well-heated, tent on Clapham Common (a brief walk from Clapham South underground turn left then left again along The Avenue) where Folklore's production takes place. Despite Seumas Allen's valiant efforts, the lack of good lines makes the Fool Dag seem long past his jest-by date, reducing him to a silly oaf who causes repeated trouble till turning up trumps in the closing minutes.
He's ordered to join Damian Davis's Gawain on his Quest for the Green Knight, which is set to end in Gawain losing his head without the ability to pick it up and walk off which the Green Knight, with his ear-shattering knocks on the door, displayed in his head-for-head challenge at Camelot.
But Quest is more circus or variety than play. Much of the excitement comes from the horsemanship, stilt-walking, aerial acrobatics, fire-juggling and fight sequences. As these are the show's main purpose, story and script are more than the mere pretext they might have been.
Certainly, here's something with plentiful popular appeal. It would gain, though, if the specialist skills were integrated closer with the plot. There is, for example, a brief joust (the horse scenes take place on an earth-covered strip in front of Camelot's raised zones and behind a firmer floor area). But it requires a gratuitous return to Camelot after the interval and doesn't connect with the main action.
Similarly, the best stunt-riding comes in the breathtaking curtain-call. The fights are, unsurprisingly, integrated better and grip attention - the performers rotating and sweeping fire over their bodies even more so.
Let's hope it happens an original amalgam like this in a non-conventional theatre space is enterprising and could have a future.
Dag: Seamus Allen
Queen Guinevere/Nineve: Nicola Burnett Smith
Sir Gawain: Damian Davis
The Green Knight: Toby Gassney
Lady Isolde: Elizabeth Keates
King Arthur: Andrew Macbean
Sir Broden: Chris Porter
Co-Walker/Gally Beggar/Yarthkin: Gareth Taylor
Ardala: Kate Waters
Morgan Le Faye: Charlotte Weston
Pixie/Gally Beggar: Grace Willow
Acrobats: James Roberts, Robyn Simpson, Tink, Susie Glass, Nix Hall
Horsemen: John Kearney, Richard Hansen, Horses Impossible
Director: Charlotte Conquest
Designer: Cleo Pettitt
Lighting: Haydn Cruikshank
Sound: Geoff Clennell
Musical Director: Jon Klein
Video Editing: Ryan Wilkins, Raw Audio
Movement: Aidan Treays
Fight Director: Philip D'Orleans
2004-12-28 00:07:11