Four Knights in Knaresborough review, Southwark

Southwark Playhouse is the perfect place to pitch a play set in a medieval castle on the North Yorkshire Moors during a freezing winter. Thomas Becket, the Archibishop of Canterbury, has just been murdered. His killers, Reginald Fitzurse, Hugh de Moreville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton have fled to Moreville's estate to escape an outraged court and public. Filled with rage, fear, repressed energy and sexual hunger, the four caged men circle each other, debating, fighting and falling in love under the care of noblewoman, Catherine.

It's a terrific 'what if' bristling with promise, but Seb Billings' direction is too ham-fisted to exploit the nuance of the situation. Fitz is a human Rottweiler, the sensitive Moreville is so fey a puff of wind would topple him, roughly spoken Brito is a sagacious lout and Catherine is Madonna or whore, not Madonna and whore. Only David Sturzaker as Traci conveys the complexity of being in different states at the same time, a man both morally and sexually challenged.

Knight terrors

What saves the production is the glorious set, excellent lighting and the rumble of the Waterloo trains overhead which run like thunder through the play and unwittingly enhance the sense of a different time and place. That, and the promise of the premise, are enough to keep you watching.

In conclusion: Paul Webb's play is beautifully staged and atmospheric. It's not the finest of productions, but a good enough reason to discover Southwark Playhouse if you haven't already.

References
Wiki information on Four Knights in Knaresborough
Southwark Playhouse