REVIEW - The Canterbury Tales, Scunthorpe Little Theatre Club, 14th - 17th May 2025 - ****
- theatrereviews
- May 15
- 3 min read
Alex Hall’s rendering of The Canterbury Tales will undoubtedly kickstart conversations among audience members over the chiming legacy of Geoffrey Chaucer; this enthusiastic reappraisal is a literal, infectious joy.
A cast of nine bring thirty-five characters to the stage, compartmentalised (to some degree) into five pilgrim tales, originally penned in the late 1380s-1390s. Londoner Chaucer is believed to have been a courtier for King Edward II, before progressing to be Comptroller of Customs under the reign of King Richard II and then Clerk of the King’s Works. His writing career, meanwhile, took shape in the 1360s and continued right up until his death, in 1400, at the age of 56/57.
These five tales – the Pardoner, the Nun’s Priest, the Wife of Bath, the Knight, and the Miller – are retold with gleeful abandon, each carrying tropes of magic, myth, morality, and a decent dollop of bawdiness. All are fairly intriguing and all definitely entertaining in themselves, however, what is more telling is how these characters, scenarios and stories continue to influence us centuries and centuries down the line. True, albeit aided and abetted by a slightly contorted, contemporary adaptation courtesy of playwright Martin Riley, these twenty-minute chunks of Middle Age yarns are traceable in everything from British soap operas to end-of-the-pier cheeky postcards. Harridans, playboys, comedy drunkards, effete royalty… the list of stock characterisations is endless. What helps make this all the more accessible (and accessible, to Chaucer converts old and new, it most certainly is), is the pseudo-period-piece, occasionally anachronistic, Python-esque delivery littering the entire play, let alone the standalone ‘sketches’. Some of these, paradoxically, work against the overall flavour: the branded chocolate box, and some other throwaway modernistic references tend to cheapen the production rather than self-parody. But these are minor niggles; the show is effective in capturing an authentic touring troupe of the era; the set is simplistic but beautifully utilised, and props and costume pieces provide more than enough detail. Interestingly, the actors rarely leave the stage; instead, they flank and support from the sides, in total view. It’s a gamble that ultimately pays off – although the actor’s energies do tend to flag towards the end of the performance, it’s fascinating to have them “join us” in these moments, evoking storytelling as a shared medium, rather than that of simply orator and audience.
We “join them” too, by the way… or rather, some hapless gent in the front row did, at today’s opening night. Coaxed on to the stage to partake in two of the fables, there was a serious possibility of the exercise escalating into pantomime. At tonight’s show, the ‘experiment’ kept on the right side of the danger of becoming self-indulgent or a direct mockery. There are confines at play here; structure and flow are never knowingly ignored. It’s a tight, streamlined production.
Aware that I was the youngest audience member by at least fifteen years, the production was probably perfectly pitched towards this theatre-going audience. However, I couldn’t but feel that there were occasions when the cast were having to “rein it in”, thus underplaying, or rather sidestepping, some of the more raucous, or nefarious, or smuttier moments that Chaucer naturally throws up. There is absolutely nothing here, except the odd swear word, that is likely to offend. This cannot be levelled solely at the direction; Riley’s script came about as a study text for SAT-level students, and the overall tone, understandably, reflects this.
The performances are all worthy of praise, and individual lines and pieces of stage business linger long after the curtain has fallen. It’s worth singling out Bryn Marwood’s absolutely surreal turn as the Rooster Chaunticleer, Matt Smith’s Rik-Mayall-esque Sir Codsbrain, and Becky Spiegl-Watson’s bubbly Alison, and the inclusion of mediaeval instruments and the pitched mini-stage are put to good use.
Overall, it’s a right romp down at Scunthorpe’s Plowright Theatre, and this is a very fitting close to the Little Theatre’s 75th Year season, and, at just £11 per ticket, it’s exceedingly good value for money.
The Canterbury Tales is being performed at the Plowright Theatre, in Scunthorpe, until Saturday 17th May. For more information and booking please click on the link below.
Comentários