Reviewed by The Magic Hatter
Mr and Mrs Hatter crossed the border to rural Paris (or, rather, popped to The Theatre Royal) to catch one of three performances of The Three Musketeers…
Their first visit to The Theatre Royal, Le Navet Bete are touring with this fast-paced production that brings the adventure novel to life in ways never seen before. Four actors (Dan Bianchi, Nick Bunt, Al Dunn and Matt Freeman) along with Stage Manager Abi Cowan and their creative team, have made something very special here – a riotous romp through a French classic that had we Hatters in hysterics!
Walk-in Wardrobe
The action features 30 characters and an abundance of costume changes; over 110 between the 4 actors – all ably assisted by the hardworking Stage Manager. Frocks, wigs and pantaloons fly, and all changes are slick and tight. I can’t begin to imagine how much there is to remember. What wig comes next? What prop do I need? Who am I now? The mind boggles, but the action never lets up and it is perfectly polished!
A Head for Heights
The staging is both practical and inventive, with the plot taking places across various levels in a makeshift den and tree-house. This setting harks back to childhood memories of those long summer holidays sword-fighting, swashbuckling and having all sorts of adventures…
The actors scale ladders and platforms, duck in and out of drapes and cycle around the set on makeshift stallions. It’s a highly physical performance, and one (intentional) fall from a fair height caused a sharp intake of breath!
There were a few wobbly moments, but nothing to detract from quality of the show. Most noticeably, a full York-wide power-cut hit during the first half – a total blackout, and whilst a performer was cycling on-stage! They handled it impeccably though, and in a show like this I’m sure some were wondering if it was all part and parcel of the performance a la The Play That Goes Wrong.
Duck and Cover
There were many highlights in this two hour-show, and one gag in particular caused my wife to laugh so much she snorted. A particular treat for us was an audience participation skit involving stuffed toy ducks and a shotgun…but to reveal any spoilers here would be fowl play!
This is a show that keeps on surprising, as an audience you never really know what is coming next. Many years ago I saw The Reduced Shakespeare Company and their potted versions of the Bard’s classics, which had a similar style and plenty of characters and changes. Here, every quick change, every accent, nod and gesture is expertly honed.
All for one, and one for all the family?
We left the junior Hatters at home for this one (properly supervised, of course!) and had a rare grown-up night out. But is the show suitable for children? There were moments that we thought our six-year-old in particular would have loved, and there were a few children in the audience on press night.
Overall, it’s generally family-friendly with plenty of silly slapstick, bikes as horses and sword-fighting that little adventurers would relish. There was the odd naughty word, causing a little girl in front of us to gasp! A few comedy sex-scenes are done cleverly (and in the dark) so that hopefully only the adults will get the joke.
The plot is fairly complex and features many twists and turns, so young children may not follow it, but I think it’s visual and varied enough to hold the interest of older ones. It’s not a children’s show as such, but fans of the CBBC hit series Horrible Histories will find a lot to enjoy here!
I was reminded at points of The League of Gentlemen; the cross-dressing, the anarchic wit and banter, and the silly surreal humour. Like the gents, these performers met at university, and it’s clear that they are having a ball playing the myriad of roles in a show that fizzes with playful fun. They are hoping to return with Treasure Island which we think would be arr-some…yo-ho and a bottle of FUN!
We highly recommend catching this show. Mrs Hatters says “The best piece of theatre I’ve seen in a long time, utterly and hilariously brilliant!” and I would agree – I tip my big green hat to the company! It’s delightfully daft, unpredictable, very funny and makes for a great night out.
MAGIC RATING 
VALUE FOR MONEY 
OVERALL 
Tickets are around £23 which we think is great value, but there are also some ticket offers around (the Theatre Royal have released front row seats for only £10!)
The Three Musketeers continues the tour through to August, for all tour dates visit http://lenavetbete.com/tour-dates/
Disclaimer: Tickets were kindly provided for this performance, however all opinions are honest and are our own.
Review Wizard 