The Three Musketeers, Worcester Rep Company Review
Written by Charis for Theatre and Tonic.
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own.
Created by Alexandre Dumas and adapted and directed by Owen Harper, Worcester Rep Company brings their outdoor performance of The Three Musketeers to The Commandery.
Their take on the classic literature revolves around a lot of slapstick comedy. The piece has clearly taken emphasised on the child humour that still enables itself to appeal to adult audiences. It reminded me of a pantomime but certainly one for those over 18. The piece is filled with adult humour and no joke is missed by the audience.
I thought it was great thinking from Harper to keep relatively close to the original source material while also brining in a few modern elements and humour. I found it rather funny how the musketeers and Duke Buckingham fight with water pistols at the siege of La Rochelle. I also enjoyed how they brought in the element of mentioning Worcester where it was being performed on a few occasions.
The cast of The Three Musketeers is small consisting only of five actors playing the fourteen roles. Despite this challenge each character is distinct from another which is a testament to their acting abilities. Each character was fully fleshed out with their own mannerisms, accents, and characteristics. I particularly enjoyed the chosen staging for Duke of Buckingham and Cardinal Richelieu.
As The Three Musketeers is staged in a pantomime fashion the actors break the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience. The aspect of becoming part of the piece rather than simply watching it adds to the enjoyment immensely. The actors step off the stage and engage with the audience physically and metaphorically.
Hollie Christian-Brookes does a superb job as a strong, determined, and funny D’Artagnan. Christian Brookes also has superb chemistry with Charlie Ryan as Porthos, Nathan Blyth as Aramis and Rob Holman as Athos. It is truly believable that the four are best friends, or ‘the inseparables’ as it is stated in the performance. They feed of each other’s energy and humour creating a piece filled with energy, character, and jokes.
The energy of the five actors really was suited to the style of slapstick comedy/ pantomime. Even when elements of the piece were childlike or ridiculous such as the horses, they truly gave it everything.
It is a testament to every actor within the piece that they were able to showcase such a strong piece within outdoor theatre. Outdoors there are issues to contend with that do not occur inside a theatre. Such as traffic and outside noise, despite this the piece overcome these issues.
The fight scenes were created in a fluid and natural way which showcases incredibly well on stage. As a swordswoman myself I enjoyed watching the scenes which is a testament to the actors and fight director Kiel O’Shea.
The costumes created for the performance were high quality and added to the overall feeling of the piece. In a performance where one actor portrays multiple roles costumes are highly important. Costume Assistant Erin Williams did a superb job in choosing the correct costumes for each role. I particularly enjoyed how the ‘good’ characters wore lighter colours in terms of blue and yellow/gold and the ‘bad’ characters wore darker colours in terms of red and burgundy.
Overall If you are looking for a way to spend a few hours and enjoy classic British slapstick humour you cannot go wrong by going to see The Three Musketeers at The Commandery showing until 21st July.
★ ★ ★ ★
