Christmas is just around the corner which means for most theatres across the land it's Panto season and while there's certainly nothing wrong with the festive British theatrical tradition, The Barn Theatre's True Adventures of Marian and Robin Hood provides a stellar alternative.
With just as much heart, whimsy, zaniness, and jokes as a typical pantomime, the Cirencester-based show presents a modern original musical with a new, decisively modern take on the classic tale of the infamous outlaw and his merry men.
Alex Pollock is the man behind it, who has had successful runs with his previous three Christmas shows A Christmas Carol, Peter Pan, and The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella and Dylan Townley has returned in an expanded role of Composer and Musical Director.
The two, along with a small yet perfectly formed cast of actors, told the story of archer, swordswoman, and witch Marian being forced to team up with her estranged childhood friend to take on thwart her husband-to-be The Sheriff of Nottingham and his evil protector, Prince John.
And honestly, it's a whirlwind of a show with a tightly polished and deeply funny script that includes everything from live music and original musical songs, with the cast all playing multiple instruments as well as acting, inventive staging with great use of lights and projection, acrobatics and stage fighting, magic, slapstick, and audience interaction.
But, what made the evening truly special, was the fact that the lynchpin of the show, its central villain Odo, Sheriff of Nottingham, was played unexpectedly by Townley due to cast illness.
The Sheriff of Nottingham provided much of the slapstick comedy and off-the-cuff humour for the show and Townley displayed impeccable timing and delivery for someone who did not expect themselves to be on the stage at all.
He had the support of the script in his hands for most scenes, but this was cleverly done and often not needed, much to his testament.
This, on top of the random offbeat moments, funny topical references and youthful feminist message helped create an extremely amusing show that when added to the strength and talent of its handful of performers truly made magic.
The Barn Theatre is a small, relatively new venue, that puts on great pieces of theatre. It probably doesn't get talked about as much as it should and it's definitely well worth a trip down the A419 for this.
For tickets visit: https://barntheatre.org.uk/the-true-adventures-of-marian-and-robin-hood
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