The Three Musketeers: Trois, Barn Theatre Cirencester Review
Written by Bryony for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
You’re in for a treat with this reimagined ‘musical adventure’. The Three Musketeers: Trois is an adaptation of the classic story by Alexandre Dumas, but with a whole new level of colour and fun. Determined to avenge his beloved father and become a Musketeer, D’Artagnan heads to Paris where he meets the dashing Athos, Porthos and Aramis, but also fearless cousin Issy, femme fatale Milady, and beautiful Conny. She wastes no time plunging him into an intrigue to preserve the honour of the Queen, avert a war with England and defeat his father’s arch enemy – evil Cardinal Richelieu – bringing D’Artagnan more than he could possibly have imagined, or even dared to dream.
With a cast of just seven; Hayley Canham, AJ Jenkins, George Shuter, Ella Rose Thomas, Sam Denia, Marc Serratosa and Georgia Leila Stoller are a talented bunch. Each actor portrays multiple roles throughout the performance, moving seamlessly back and forth between each one. And if that wasn’t impressive enough, they each play multiple musical instruments too, with guitars entering stage left, triangles being produced from goodness knows where and a live piano which threads the story together so well. A particular shoutout for Sam Denia who morphs so incredibly between three very distinct characters throughout, delivering witty one liners with such funny facial expressions that had the whole theatre in stitches.
The script, written by Alan Pollock, had everything we know and love about the original story, with some added entertaining concepts, particularly the idea of the ‘musketeers’ being a cancelled rock band who are brought back together by the newby rock star D’Artagnan. This was perfectly complemented by a variety of songs, written by Lee Freeman and Mark Anderson, some upbeat and full of joy, while others were slower and more serious, yet all complemented the story brilliantly. ‘All For One’ and ‘Doing Life With You’ are particularly catchy – real earworms in the best kind of way.
With Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen on board designing the set and costumes, you can imagine how lavish, bold and downright extra they are, in the best way possible. Taking inspiration from an array of sources; Catwalk High Fashion, 1980s New Wave videos plus Adam and his Ants are cheekily combined with plenty of 17th Century swagger. These prove a real juxtaposition against the set which is inspired by Victorian paste board toy theatres and includes many clever features to bring the scenes to life in an intimate space.
All in all, this show is hilarious, joyful, camp, silly and sure to be a fun, family favourite which will go down well with teens, grandparents and everyone in between – the perfect treat to get booked in during the festive season.
At Barn Theatre Cirencester until 4 January 2025
★★★
