Theatre

The most raucous retelling of Arthurian legends – King Arthur at The Lowry | Review

Long live 'Dave the Rave'.

Danny Jones - 28th September 2024

There’s something very alluring about going into a show without knowing anything about it beyond what you can cobble together from the name but, we have to say, we had such a good time watching King Arthur at The Lowry in Salford we simply had to clue you in.

Like us, you can probably have a stab at what this one is about: the tale of King Arthur (sort of), his Knights of the Roundtable and the famous legends that have been retold for centuries – just not like this.

This comedic chronicling of Camelot and the character studies that lie within it as a much-loved fantasy world does more than just play with the legend, it sarcastically subverts things in an intentionally meta manner, not just breaking the fourth wall but more like stumbling through it with a perfect pratfall.

Put simply, it’s rambunctious, rude, just the right amount of camp with plenty of slapstick and it might be the most outright fun we’ve had at the theatre in ages. It’s certainly the most we’ve laughed.

Perhaps one of the first things that we must praise is the pacing and one-upmanship that goes into this show. We struggle to think of a single other production that manages to get increasingly funnier as it goes on but these lot manage it somehow.

And that’s quite the statement when you take into account the opening scene – we daren’t spoil a thing but let’s just say they set the bar pretty high for themselves.

Created by the Exter-based Le Navet Bete theatre company, along with help from one of the country’s best comedy writers and directors, John Nicholson, they’re known for similarly humorous twists on tried and tested tales like Dracula, The Three Musketeers and Treasure Island.

Put it this way, we’re honestly gutted that this is our first taste of their take on classic stories and sincerely hope they’ll be bringing back these other shows to Salford Quays.

Each one of the main characters – plural being very much the operative phrase here – Osbert (Nick Bunt), Edgar (Al Dunn) and Dave have countless moments to shine in the spotlight and deliver plenty of childish punchlines, but a special shout-out has to go to Matt Freeman (Dave), who was nothing short of electric.

The show is filled with plenty of physical comedy and genuinely impressive feats of athleticism at times, so much so that the non-stop energy has to be applauded, and that aspect of the performance is very much typified by Freeman, a.k.a. ‘Dave the Rave’.

As the cast very much enjoys toying with, the multi-roling that a trio having to play several characters isn’t so much restrictive as it is freeing in this show, with each Arthurian figure presenting a new opportunity to be funny in a different way, and he grabs each one firmly with both hands.

His Lady Guinevere is quite frankly one of the funniest parts in the entire show and having her talk like some twisted, medieval version of Nigella Lawson meets a TOWIE star in an overly saucy M&S advert was genuinely side-splitting. But this doesn’t even come close to scratching the surface.

Be it throwing his large frame around like an excited toddler, playing the dim role to perfection, or switching to yet another regional dialect – a chance to explore even more of the breadth behind being ‘British’ in the process – his actual strength pales in comparison to his strength in sheer versatility.

Speaking of accents, it’s not all about ‘The Big D’ though; one of the best running gags which stretched wafer-thin to the point of everything almost coming part is Al Dunn’s lack of mastery when it comes to sounding French, Scottish or like he’s even trying to an accurate impersonation – because he’s not.

In fact, at what point he simply turned to the crowd and asked, “What that too much?”, which got one of the biggest laughs of the night.

To tell the truth, it was these looser moments that were among some of the best. There were multiple occasions in which we genuinely couldn’t tell whether or not the actors had broken character, were simply cracking up or had downright lost their place – that’s how good they are at the nonsense of it all.

And there was no shortage of light and unserious spells, naturally; there was a good level of interaction and crowd participation too, without it ever feeling like the audience felt pressured into giving a forced response or customary chuckle. Give anyone a chance to throw stuff on stage and you’re onto a winner.

One of the high points of the entire evening was when a little kid was overcome with a case of not just a laughing fit but that pure, uncontrollable cackling that only a child can truly muster. It was almost as if he’d suddenly discovered his love of the art form and, infectiously, led everyone else to rediscover theirs.

It was as close to capturing that simple joy of being a pantomime when you were little and being so consumed with laughter that you suddenly suspended all disbelief as you could ask for from a largely adult crowd, though this show is definitely one that works for all age groups.

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Whether it be the puns and Pixar-esque sly nods to the grown-ups, the countless bait-and-switch jokes where the lead is often so buried that the punchline comes much later than you’re expecting or is repeated to the point of insanity, or the big, broad, musical segments, the run the whole gamut.

Your belly doesn’t even get a breather in the transitions or during the interval, as purposefully over-exaggerated montages are used to show the passing of time and even Medieval-style Bardcore versions of pop songs like Hot In Herre by Nelly or Moves Like Jagger play during the breaks.

The contemporary language and poking fun at every generation helps it feel really universal too and considering they’ve only got a small stage, they make full use of the set in as far as they can – but it’s all about those performances from La Navet Bete.

Lastly, there’s also just an unapologetic sense of play about King Arthur from start to finish and it really does love up to the tagline, ‘A Legendary Comedy’. It’s the most raucous retelling of otherwise revered tales that reclaim the ridiculousness of panto and reminds you how wonderfully daft theatre can be.

There are still tickets left for the remaining King Arthur shows at The Lowry in MediaCity UK and we sincerely hope you find time to see them before they go.

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Featured Images — Press Images (via The Lowry)