2:46pm Tuesday 20th July 2010
Dave Hollis’s adaptation of five of Chaucer’s tales, set in the courtyard of the Tabard Inn, cunningly uses the pilgrims and the people of the inn to act as characters in the stories.
This can be confusing at times, as the stories are some-what truncated and mostly lack Chaucer’s subtle detail in this telling, but the cast is game and they create a rollicking mood of bawdy fun, performing in front of a nicely painted set and in colourful costumes.
Newcomer George Randall is a wonderful physical clown, while Neville Green, as the drunken Miller, gets at least as many laughs. Jenny Green also creates a memorable character, as the frighteningly coarse but playful Host’s Wife. An effective ensemble piece.
Canterbury Tales – Lyndhurst Drama and Musical Society, Appletree Court Gardens, Lyndhurst.
Ham Quentin
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/trade_directory/