Review: The Canterbury Tales****
Without the star turn of Lenny Henry on stage, could Northern Broadsides still pull in an audience?
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Hide AdFortunately, the answer was yes, but not as emphatically as it did when Big Len was on the books.
Which is a shame as this production, compared with last year's Othello, is a much more rounded and stronger piece of theatre with Conrad Nelson, who played Iago in that production, here taking the helm as director. Nelson is a safe pair of hands, and remains inventive and witty.
The major complaint about the production is a seemingly facile one – its length.
Running at just under three hours, the show is a big ask of its audience. Broadsides' Wars of the Roses ran over the course of a whole day and was wonderful (in particular Nelson as Richard III), but here the epiosdic nature of Mike Poulton's adaptation, with stories being told one after the other, is not a strong dramatic arc. You'll leave the theatre remembering a few choice highlights rather than the whole. Fortunately there are many, many highlights.
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Hide AdThe cast are excellent, with Broadsides regulars joined by new faces and all working their socks off. If Nelson can find a way to shave a little length off, this would be a perfect Broadsides show.
To Apr 17.