Les Trois Mousquetaires

Published Monday 5 October 2009 at 10:35 by Duska Radosvljavic

Let’s make this clear straight away - yes, this is a show performed almost entirely in French, with a sprinkling of Spanish and English. And yes, you will have understood all of it, even if like myself, you couldn’t even order a dinner in Cafe Rouge without translation. What is more, this show will most probably send you home riding an imaginary cheval while happily chanting simple French verses along the way.

The Northumberland-based company Theatre Sans Frontieres, has existed since 1991 with the sole purpose of making foreign language theatre accessible to British audiences and its work has found appeal all around the country, and much further beyond the GCSE French students, which it appears to target. This revival of a show from 2000 is performed by an utterly charming, predominantly female and mostly Gaulier-trained ensemble.

As if performing in French was not challenge enough, the show makes a particularly effective use of cross-casting with all of the musketeers, being played by four nimble ladies, and one tiny nun, by a rather lanky and cheeky Rew Lowe. Bed sheets, gloves, one rucksack and one accordion go a long way in conjuring up multiple settings and characters, and onomatopoeic words are often chosen to fill the gaps.

A more radical dramaturgical adaptation of Dumas’ novel might have improved this already splendid - but somewhat too action-packed - piece of theatre further. In any case, this is a massively rewarding theatrical adventure, efficacious and entertaining in equal measure, and worth every centime of the fare.