Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (reviewed Tuesday 10 September).
Where is Lancelot? is a comedy / drama drawing on from the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.
Lancelot has been MIA for quite some time and Queen Gwenny is not amused. During his absence, King Arthur’s half-sister schemes a plan to take over the kingdom using her promising young son, Gawain, as a decoy pawn.
The writing by Jack Price is Monty Pythonesque, absurd and humorously anachronistic, commenting on relationships and the quest for loyalty, truth and independence.
There are fun characters that bring these themes to life, most notably Arthur as a poncy young King, eager to please his wife, and puppyish Sir Gawain, eager to please his mother.
Costumes by Lara Newman and music by Jack Price brings us to medieval times and everyone splendidly looks the part. Hair and make up are on point.
The stage is sparse so a little more decorative stagecraft would surprise and delight the audience, even if it is just a mere suggestion of the grandeur of being in Camelot (eg a vine).
The characters are mostly interesting when they are given something interesting to do. Morgan, the overbearing, scheming mother of Sir Gawain, has her work cut out slyly convincing everyone to follow her plan, even if it means brewing up some pretty foul witchcraft potion. Gawain is gifted with some great lines, delivered in complete wide-eyed innocence. King Arthur is passionate about his principles. Their actions propel the story forward with intention.
Gweievere and Sir Galahad have potential for more character development compared to the dynamic rigour of King Arthur, Morgan and Gawain. A ‘moment in the spotlight’ helps to create significance (eg Morgan’s spell-casting or Gawain’s performance in the Tourney). The show has an M rating so perhaps ‘be like the lion’ as Morgan said and go for the full jugular of that M rating if you have license to do so.
Otherwise as it stands, Where is Lancelot? is a well written story with plenty of charm and intriguing ideas; as a closet writer of King Arthur fan fiction I loved the arc of the story and the intertwine of the Arthurian legend with some clever, original dialogue and quirky scenes.
Where is Lancelot? is playing at Erskinville Town Hall until 14 September. For tickets and showtimes, go to https://sydneyfringe.com/events/where-is-lancelot/
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- Cast – Tyler Dias, Lara Newman, Ochre Pastro, Jack Price, Nathan Roach
- Writer/director – Jack Price
- Original music – Jack Price
- Costume design – Lara Newman