Stage Review: The Legend of King Arthur – Guildford Shakespeare Company

Published on: 19 Oct, 2017
Updated on: 18 Oct, 2017

Simon Nock begins to tell the story of King Arthur.

By Alice Fowler

“How will they do the dragon?” asked my 11-year-old son, as the Guildford Shakespeare Company’s new production, The Legend of King Arthur, began. A fair question, given that we were seated in the Spiegeltent, our seats a metre or so from the raised circular stage: well in range of fiery dragon breath.

Can he do it? Arthur (Alexander Varey) confronts the sword in the stone. All photos Guildford Shakespeare Company.

Those who have yet to experience the GSC’s winter venue, nestled in a corner of Stoke Park behind the Challengers building, are in for something special. From the tiny wooden box office at the entrance, visitors pass through a mirrored swing door into a space both magical and modest: walls decked with mirrors, the ceiling draped in velvet, so you feel you have stepped back in time to a 19th century Parisian bar.

Seats are unreserved: some in intimate booths that line the walls, others around the stage. Wherever you choose, you are enveloped in the Spiegeltent’s immediacy and charm.

The Lady of the Lake (Emma Fenney) helps Arthur fight for good.

Writer and director Caroline Devlin has trawled through the many legends that surround King Arthur to create the GSC’s own version of the story. Just five actors take on a wealth of parts – four or five roles apiece, as well as a myriad of wolfmen, guards, wenches and servants – dashing on and off stage in an extraordinary array of costumes.

Merlin (Noel White) shows off his power.

Noel White, familiar to GSC audiences as last winter’s Caesar, is an impressive Merlin, his bodily contortions conveying the great wizard’s power. Alexander Varey, returning to the town a year after graduating from the Guildford School of Acting, is a dashing and convincing Arthur. Emma Fenney and Emily Tucker also shine in a whole variety of roles, male as well as female; Tucker particularly strong as Arthur’s friend turned enemy, Morgan.

Last but by no means least is Simon Nock, whose comic performance as Fen, a night waste collector, had the audience roaring in its seats.

This is a production full of fun and verve, sometimes coming close to pantomime. Company patron Brian Blessed, at his growling best, provides the voice of the Divine Unseen (and, on the night I watched, was enjoying the show hugely from his ring-side booth). There are sword-flashing battle scenes, no mean feat on a stage this size, and wonderful, quick-draw humour as successive knights attempt to pull the sword from the stone.

Writer Devlin has serious messages too. There are dashes of medieval feminism – “A woman is as worthy as a man” – and, of course, equality for all around Arthur’s Round Table.

Children will love this show, with many performances taking place at child-friendly times. My son emerged full of praise, awarding it 4.8 stars out of five. One word of caution – the seats are hard, so it may be worth bringing or borrowing a cushion.

And the dragon? Suffice to say that the sound and lighting on this production are second to none. The rest I’ll leave you to discover for yourselves.

The Legend of King Arthur runs until November 5 (2017). See: www.guildford-shakespeare-company.co.uk