| Riotously funny populist theatre.... |
At Mappa Mundi |
| Mappa Mundi- The Canterbury Tales , Taliesin Arts Centre Swansea , April 3, 2006 |
Purists may well sneer at the notion of updating classic works in order to render them "accessible" to a 21st century audience (indeed, I have even been known to do so myself in the wake of one too many Shakespearean updates in which the cast wear camouflage trousers and combat jackets).Some works, however, lend themselves to such treatment, and this is certainly true of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales - an unfinished series of stories best known to past generations of schoolchildren for the "rude" bits and for the coarse jokes about bodily functions which make today's US "gross-out" movies look positively mild in comparison. This co-production by Mappa Mundi, Theatr Mwldan and Creu Cymru - directed by Phylip Harries and adapted by Keiron Self - is an unashamedly populist, cleverly conceived and riotously funny piece of theatre in which the six-strong cast(Lee Mengo, Simon Nehan, Richard Nichols, Keiron Self, Lynne Seymour and Clêr Stephens)seem to be having as much fun as the audience as they slip in and out of their respective roles with boundless energy, charm and just the right degree of cheekiness. While the overall "look" is indeed medieval, due in no small part to Rhiannon Brown's costume design and Carl Davies' set, the script is liberally sprinkled with a multitude of smart references to popular culture ranging from Paris Hilton and Katherine Jenkins right through to the TV series Taggart("There's been a murrrrderrrr!") and a hilarious parody of the Gloria Gaynor anthem I Will Survive. The inclusion of a Benny Hill chase sequence is perhaps over-egging the pudding more than a little - and on the night I attended, at least one devotee of Dylan Thomas expressed his quiet disapproval of the sequence in which the cast lampoon Under Milk Wood(actually I thought it was a hoot, but who am I to argue?). Any production in which one is presented with a sketch about the Black Death presented in the style of Pathe News,complete with a Mr Cholmondely-Walker style voice-over("Don't die of ignorance!"), has got to be worth the price of admission, and this is a production well worth catching should you get the chance during the remainder of its tour. Whether or not you decide to take along your maiden aunt is, of course, entirely up to you. The Canterbury Tales can be seen on Wednesday 5 April and Thursday 6th April at the Sherman Theatre, Carddiff, Friday April 7 at Theatr Gwynedd, Bangor(01248 351708), Theatr Ardudwy, Harlech on Saturday April 8(01766 780667), Torch Theatre, Milford Haven on Wednesday April 12(01646 695267)and Coliseum, Aberdare on Thursday April 13(01685 881188). For further details of productions at Taliesin Arts Centre contact the Box Office on 01792 602060. |
Reviewed by: Graham Williams |
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