We galloped over to York Theatre Royal to catch some old(e) school entertainment, courtesy of Le Navet Bete…
Having seen The Three Musketeers, Dracula, Treasure Island and A Christmas Carol, this wasn’t our first rodeo. Or…joust…to be more in-keeping with the theme. With Le Navet, you can always Bete on a great night’s entertainment, and King Arthur does not disappoint.
Part Monty Python, part The Play That Goes Wrong, expect a high-energy show with lots of knockabout fun, quick (and countless) costume changes and gags galore.
I’d Like a Room for Three (K)nights
The plot follows a motley trio and their quest to stage a play for Arthur-fest, by request of the King himself. The problem? There are no legends to be found, and the clock is ticking. The gang scramble to embellish stories from characters they meet around Camelot, or risk a year of scrubbing toilets…or worse!
This is a real comedy of errors, confusing at times but that only adds to the fun. Nick Bunt, Al Dunn and Matt Freeman play an eye-popping array of characters, and seamlessly switch roles, accents, wigs, tabards and frocks. Seldom-seem Stage Managers (Fi Russell and Jess Crocker) must be working their socks off behind-the-scenes to keep order amongst the chaos!
In the second act, each of the stories is highlighted with a catchy jingle. There are tales of dragons, knights, an invisi-bullock and a bath of boiling beans. My own knowledge of Arthurian legend is limited, so I’m not sure how much of a spin they’ve put on a each tale…but I’d wager they’re not 100% accurate.
A Little Horseplay
What the show lacks in accuracy, it more than makes up for in fun – with brilliant buffoonery, larger than life characters and just the right level of audience participation. There were many highlights, one of mine being Merlin’s wife who – inexplicably – could walk upstairs but never down them. As Merlin exclaimed between naff magic tricks, ‘She’s like a cow!’.
A flirtatious Guinevere elicits laughs too, with a chocolate milkshake and a familiar song. Oh and of course things go amiss, and the gents are quick to acknowledge the absurdity of the whole premise. The montages as the trio learn acting and stagecraft are inspired.
There was a slight dip in pace in the first act, and things took a while to hit the big funnies of the brilliant intro again. However, once it found it’s (ostrich) legs, it was a sprint to the finish with fast-faced frenetic fun.
Taking Stock
Is that image a stock photo, I wonder? The production team have gone positively medieval on the design of the show.
Fi Russell’s set design features a castle backdrop that transforms into a show tent, and cleverly uses multiple levels for the players to scale up and down, and even leap off at points.
And there wouldn’t be a round table big enough for all the props here; from frying pans, planks and puppets to vegetables, sacks, swords and the classic cup and ball game. ‘Thrust Cup’ are two words I didn’t expect to hear last night…
Sometimes you have to be a Little Bit Naughty
Fun for all the family? The suggested age rating is 7+ and there’s plenty of innuendo and a very funny naughty bit at the start (that I won’t spoil) which our seven and ten-year-old loved. The gents are so likeable though, that these cheeky moments are just that…a little cheeky, and never really offensive. I’ve heard far worse in so called family-friendly pantomimes.
Younger audience members may struggle to follow the many twists and turns of the absurd plot, but the show is highly visual and delightfully silly. Our two boys have been reenacting some of the scenes over breakfast, and are interested to find out more about the legends (fist pump) of King Arthur.
Queen songs, egg puns and more slapstick than you can shake a sword at. What’s not to like? This is comic chaos of the highest (ex)calibre!
MAGIC RATING
VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL
King Arthur runs at York Theatre Royal until Saturday 23rd March. Book tickets at www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/show/king-arthur/. Follow Le Navet Bete’s tour at https://lenavetbete.com/
Disclaimer: Tickets were kindly provided for this performance, however all opinions are honest and are our own.
Review Wizard 