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Blondel

Published Wednesday 29 November 2006 at 12:15 by Paul Vale

In 1189 King Richard the Lionheart embarks on a holy crusade, leaving England in the hands of his ambitious brother John. On the way home he is kidnapped by an Austrian Duke and the court musician Blondel is dispatched to find him and bring him home. This peculiar musical whimsy is a fluffy concoction dripping with knowing anachronisms courtesy of Tim Rice matched to a clever score by the late Stephen Oliver and new arrangements by musical director Matthew Pritchard. Thankfully director Patrick Wilde keeps the pace up and ensures that the characters are played broadly without ever really creeping into pantomime territory.

Chris Grierson as the trusty Blondel holds the stage well with a gentle tenor and an easy stage presence ably supported by his troop of Blondette backing singers. Blondel’s sweetheart Fiona masterminds their escape from Austria making it a somewhat fitting role for the admirable Abi Finley, a finalist in the television Maria contest. While Maria may have a chorus of nuns to help her along, Blondel has a chorus of monks with Charlie Tighe, Gavin James, Nick Trumble and James Durrant filling in the story and providing much of the comedy for the evening. Matt Harrop clearly relishes bringing this particular Prince John to the stage and his number No Rhyme for Richard is one of the highlights of the evening. If the role of King Richard seems a little weak it is probably due to the material rather than Mark Inscoe’s stalwart performance.

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