King Arthur

Photo credit: Craig Fuller

Review by Martine Silkstone

I’ve been a theatre lover and reviewer for many years now and have covered every different kind of show from comedy to high drama - or so I thought. Having now watched Le Navet Bete’s King Arthur at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds I realise that the nature of creativity means there is always something more to discover.

But how do I describe what I have just seen? 

Frankly, I was laughing so much that note-taking and any attempt at professionalism went straight out the window. In fact, looking back, I’m not sure exactly what happened! Did Merlin really do a Cher number while wearing an outfit that would make the diva proud? Or was it just a dream fuelled by too many Haribo during the interval?

I don’t know, but whatever took place, it was magnificent. 

This wonderful touring company have taken all the best things about live performance - the physicality, the audience interaction, the storytelling, the suspension of disbelief - and created something hugely entertaining for all ages.

Well, I say all ages…

There is, nevertheless, a rather saucy element to proceedings, such as you might find in panto. Nothing too outrageous but, for example, I was somewhat unprepared for the sudden appearance of knitted genitals!

That’s not a sentence I ever expected to write during my career, but I digress…

Photo credit: Craig Fuller

For their first visit to Bury St Edmunds, the Exeter-based group are bringing audiences their novel take on the legend of King Arthur, which sees three squires drunkenly agree to perform the various mythical stories for Camelot’s upcoming festival. 

What ensues is a hysterical, irreverent journey through everything from the Green Knight to the Lady of the Lake, with the three talented actors - Nick Bunt, Al Dunn and Matt Freeman - playing multiple roles and, in some cases, roles within roles (the actor, playing a squire, then playing Guinevere, then a squire pretending to be Guinevere…)

Throughout, we enjoy a variety of wonderful theatrical tropes including slapstick, songs, playing with the crowd and breaking the fourth wall, along with possibly the worst French accent since ‘Allo Allo’ (intentionally, obvs). 

You can certainly tell that their comedy inspiration came from people like Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson, French and Saunders, Rowan Atkinson and John Cleese. They have embraced the same physical comedy and silliness as their heroes, but while clearly understanding the innate skill required for it to truly work - that’s clever stuff. 

In fact, at its heart, it is almost Shakespearean - stay with me - in its rawness and the way it blurs the line between the actors and audience; it’s theatre in its original, beautifully natural form. It takes real talent to honour that core genius while still making us laugh until we accidentally snort a Tangfastic. Bravo! 

Of course, the great staging and costumes by Fi Russell helped in their endeavours, and the sound design (Jonny Wharton) really completed the medieval scene. 

But all that said, it’s the three fabulous performers that really bring the magic. In so obviously having a great time themselves (corpsing, improvising, falling off stools), we can’t help but join in the fun, and ultimately, I left the theatre with my cheeks aching and soul lightened.

I had heard good things about Le Navet Bete (translated: The Daft Turnip) but I didn’t know what to expect. Now I’ve seen them…well, I still find it hard to believe what took place, but I do know it was fabulous. 

The stuff of legend.

King Arthur is at Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds until February 15.

FOR SHOW DETAILS AND BOOKING LINK, CLICK HERE

Le Navet Bete can also been seen at New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich in June when they return to Suffolk with Treasure Island. Details HERE.