London Theatre Direct

A new adaptation in two parts by Mike Poulton

‘A RUMBUSTIOUS AND PASSIONATE NEW STAGING. HILARIOUS’ Daily Mail

Under the sardonic eye of Chaucer himself, a group of pilgrims each recount a tale to entertain their companions on the road to Canterbury. By turns comic, bawdy and sublime, these great theatrical tales and their tellers are a vivid testimony to Chaucer’s insight into human nature.

THE KNIGHT, THE MILLER AND OTHER TALES

The pilgrims’ journey begins with the pageantry and spectacle of The Knight’s Tale as chivalrous rivals compete for their love’s affections. Later love is of a different vein in the shape of the bawdy Miller’s Tale, before the farmyard chaos of the Nun’s Priest’s Tale as the vain cockerel Chaunticleer is abducted by the wily col-fox.

THE WIFE OF BATH AND OTHER TALES

As the colourful characters near Canterbury perhaps the most famous of the pilgrims, the worldly-wise Wife of bath, regales her fellow travellers with tales of unfortunate and downtrodden husbands. In contrast the Franklin tells his romance of Arveragus, Aurelius and Dorigen steeped in the lofty ideals of chivalry and courtly love.

The two parts of The Canterbury Tales are self-contained productions, so can be watched in isolation and do not necessarily need to be seen in chronological order.

RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran, who recently directed the hugely popular A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the current sell-out production of Anthony and Cleopatra is joined by directors Rebecca Gatward and Jonathan Munby to present Chaucer’s stories in styles ranging from puppetry and shadow play to opera and farce, mirroring the many narrative voices employed by Chaucer himself.

Adapter Mike Poulton’s other work includes the critically acclaimed adaptation of Fredrich Schiller’s Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield and Gielgud).

‘WICKEDLY ENTERTAINING’ The Independent

All Live Events

39 Steps | A Bowl Of Cherries | A Tale of Two Cities | Abigail's Party | Absent Friends | Akram Khan - Desh | All New People | Backbeat | Being Shakespeare | Big Pants & Botox | Billy Elliot | Blood Brothers | Chicago | Classic Lunch Cruise | Crazy For You | Dreamboats and Petticoats | English National Ballet: My First Sleeping Beauty | Evening Dinner Cruise | GATZ | Ghost | Hay Fever | Horrible Histories | Importance of Being Earnest, The | Jackie Mason - Fearless | Jersey Boys | Julius Caesar | Ladykillers | Legally Blonde | Les Miserables | Lion King | London Dungeon | London Eye | Long Day’s Journey Into Night | Madame Tussauds | Madness Of George III | Mamma Mia! | Mamma Mia! | Master Class | Matilda The Musical | Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! | Matthew Bourne's Play Without Words | Midnight Tango | Mousetrap | Much Ado About Nothing | Naked Boys Singing | Noises Off | Noises Off | One Man, Two Guvnors | Pajama Men: In The Middle Of No One | Pet Shop Boys & Javier De Frutos - The Most Incredible Thing | Phantom of The Opera | Pippin | Pitmen Painters | Proud Cabaret | Rambert Dance Company: Mixed Bill | Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Complete World Of Sports(Abridged) | Rock Of Ages | Sex With A Stranger | Shrek The Musical | Singin' In The Rain | South Downs/The Browning Version | Stomp | Sweeney Todd | That Thing Friday Night | The Awkward Squad | The Duchess of Malfi | The Fitzrovia Radio Hour | The Houdini Experience | The Leisure Society | The Sunshine Boys | Three Days in May | Thriller Live | Tiger Who Came to Tea | Top Hat | UMOJA: The Spirit Of Togetherness | Wah! Wah! Girls | War Horse | We Will Rock You | Wicked | Wizard of Oz | Woman In Black

 

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