Review: A KNIGHT'S TALE THE MUSICAL @ Opera House, Manchester

It came as a bit of a bolt from the blue, when we saw the announcement that A Knight's Tale was being presented as a musical. Given that the movie has rather large set pieces of medieval jousting,  this is not going to be the easiest of shows to stage. Based on the cult 2001 movie starring Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany,  Brian Helgeland's movie script has been adapted for the stage by Brona Titley and directed by Rachel Kavanaugh (responsible for the mostly excellent new Steps musical too).  

For those unfamiliar with the movie,  it centres on a jousting tournament at which squire William Thatcher impersonates his dead master Sir Ector, much to the concern of fellow squires Roland and Wat.  Buoyed by Thatcher's win,  they set off to enter more tournaments with William styling himself as the noble Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein.   Along the way they encounter  wordsmith and gambling addict (naked) Geoffrey Chaucer,  a flirty noblewoman Jocelyn and a decidedly rogueish Count Adhemar of  Anjou, who bests Thatcher in a joust but its the start of a simmering rivalry.

As this is a medival roadtrip with jousting set-pieces, it falls to set designer Tom Rogers to get around all the obvious problems with staging. This he does brilliantly (and no we are not going to reveal the tricks he uses).  Add the suitably medieval looking costumes by Gabriella Slade, and some stunning lighting by Howard Hudson and you have got yourself one seriously impressive vista.

The pivotal role of wannabe knight William is taken by Andrew Coshan,  he is dashing, has an amazing singing voice and is devilishly handsome with a twinkle. Perfect casting.  He is matched by Max Bennett as Geoffrey Chaucer, on the cusp of writing his 'Canterbury Tales' but for now happy to follow in the wake of the self styled Knight.  Bennett brings wit, and charm to the production, often being the conduit between the audience and the events on stage, as he talks directly to us. Whether naked or fully clothed, he gives a star performance. The ladies are not to be outdone either,  Meesha Turner is Princess Jocelyn with whom William can fall in love,  she is saucy and fiesty and won't be anybody's chattle.  William's squires Wat (Eva Scott, in a gender change from the film) and Roland (Emile Ruddock) circle the proceedings,  giving more humour to the evening.  Scott particularly delivers her punchlines with force, and when her romantic denouement is revealed, it is hardly a surprise.  Blacksmith Kate becomes a force of nature under the watch of Emily Benjamin,  she brings fire to the role (literally) and is a standout performance.  She has a wonderful set of pipes too.

Oliver Tompsett, rapidly becoming a West End legend, delivers once again as the odious Count Adhemar,  whether snarling at his rival, or singing a showstopper, Tompsett has that indefinable star quality that has seen his career flourish to great heights. Whilst not a huge role he manages to put his stamp firmly on Adhemar.  A word too for young Cristiano Cuino who portrayed 'young William' (on the night we saw the show anyway), a good solid performance from a future West End performer we'll wager.

 

Director Kavanaugh knows how to keep the pace going,  just as she did last year with Here & Now,  making this a romp in every sense.  Much has already been written about the eclectic nature of the score.  Naturally we get a burst of 'We Will Rock You' as admirers of the movie might expect,  but then it turns into NOW That's What We Call Random.  Take your pick from Chumbawumba,  The Proclaimers, Adele, A-ha. Bonnie Tyler, S Club 7, Ricky Martin... and so it goes on.  A few of the choices we may question,  but they are all staged wonderfully with enough energy to power the national grid.  It is infectious and as the evening went on, the audience warmed to the show massively.   We were all happy to get on our feet as the curtain call commenced,  a genuine admiration coming over from the 2000 people in attendence.

 

A Knight's Tale was always going to be problematic to adapt for the stage, but the creative team have for the most part got it spot on,  and this is yet another quality world premiere for Manchester on the back of & Juliet and Back To The Future.  And we have picked up a new verb: to 'Fong'.  We're looking forward to slipping that one into our conversations shortly.  In short, this is a Knight to remember. Joust fantastic.

 

Rob & Ian 

Further details can be found at the A KNIGHT'S TALE OFFICIAL WEBSITE