A witty, warm-hearted reimagining of the Arthurian legend that combines silliness with genuine emotional depth. Packed with inventive storytelling, great performances and theatrical imagination, this is good old-fashioned family theatre that delights from start to finish. Rating
Excellent!
Writer-director duo Marietta Kirkbride and Nel Crouch bring pace, wit and a healthy dose of joyful silliness to the Arthurian legend in a show that feels delightfully Spamalot-esque without ever losing sight of its young audience.
Aimed at 6–12-year-olds, this fast-moving adventure cleverly frames the familiar tale through the contemporary story of Grace, played with warmth, honesty and comic timing by Gurjot Dhaliwal. Grace is sitting in A&E with a piece of Lego stuck firmly up her nose after a fight with her younger brother has left their homemade castle destroyed and his arm in plaster. Feeling misunderstood by her family and quietly carrying the guilt that somehow she is responsible for her parents’ divorce, she tries unsuccessfully to dislodge the offending brick before Merlin emerges from behind the hospital curtain and whisks her back to sixth-century Britain to help a rather timid young Arthur retrieve Excalibur. It sounds gloriously implausible, and that’s exactly the point. In this world, imagination trumps logic every time.
Without spoiling the ending, be ready for the final few minutes. After all the comic mayhem, Grace returns home to reconcile with her brother, and together they rebuild Camelot from little more than blankets, cushions and everyday household objects. Beautifully underscored by evocative music, it becomes a surprisingly moving metaphor for acceptance, imagination and family, quietly landing the production’s central message: be yourself, allow others to see who you really are, and things might just work out better than you imagined.
Before then, however, there is plenty of glorious nonsense. Arthur (a wonderfully gentle Giles Carden) is an unlikely hero whose quest gathers momentum largely thanks to Grace’s encouragement and Merlin’s questionable guidance. Around them swirls a cast of eccentric knights, monsters and magical creatures, all brought to life by an endlessly versatile ensemble.
The production embraces theatrical simplicity with enormous confidence. The stage consists of little more than drapes, a central cave and a handful of props, yet constantly transforms into forests, castles and mythical landscapes. Puppetry is deliberately homemade in style: floppy snakes, carved wooden hobby horses and oversized monsters whose heads fall off at precisely the right moment for maximum comic effect. A magnificent, fearsome beast, stitched together from an eccentric mix of colours, textures and animal parts, is a particular highlight.
Rose Wardlaw, Adam Mirsky and Megan Vaughan-Thomas throw themselves into multiple roles with infectious enthusiasm. Merlin is gloriously eccentric, Lancelot and Gawain compete with wonderfully overblown bravado, while Vivian, the Lady of the Lake, glides across the stage on wheeled trainers with complete conviction. Even scene changes become running jokes as actors proudly wave when reduced to moving scenery before collapsing into a heap once dismissed. It shouldn’t work, but somehow it absolutely does.
The script remains impressively focused throughout. Original songs are woven naturally into the storytelling, always moving the narrative forward, while the central question of what makes a good leader emerges gently through humour, friendship and teamwork.
There is something wonderfully old-fashioned about the production. Despite being set around the midsummer solstice, it has the comforting warmth of a Christmas show: inventive, funny, heartfelt, and full of theatrical imagination. In an era when family productions can sometimes rely too heavily on spectacle, this is a reminder that a clear script, confident performances and playful storytelling can still create worlds every bit as magical.
Writer – Marietta Kirkbride
Director – Nel Crouch
Set & Costume Designer – Rebecca Jane Wood
Composer & Musical Director – Harry Blake
Lighting Designer – Jonathan Chan
Sound Designer – Owen Crouch
Movement Director – DK Fashola
Fight Director – Nora Iso-Kungas
Assistant Director – Ben Kulvichit
Assistant Set & Costume Designer – Joy Chen
Arthur runs at Polka Theatre until Sunday 9 August
