No Wonder They Were Merry! Robin Hood’s Gang hits Town

Three Inch Fools present

Robin Hood

Shrewsbury Castle, (Theatre Severn)

27th July 2023

What do Lorne Green, Jason Connery, Kevin Costner, Michael Praed, and Ed from the Three Inch fools all got in common? Yes, they all played Robin Hood, the latter to the best of my knowledge is the most recent and probably the funniest.

What a joy this wonderfully self-contained, episodic portrayal of the story of the outlaw Robin Hood and his bunch of merry men, really is. To conjure up a bunch of merry men is little short of genius when there are only three of you to begin with and you too, need to be playing the plethora of other key players that one would expect to find in a good Robin yarn. They are all there. Guy of Gisburn, Maid Marion, Friar Tuck, Prince John, and Richard the Lion Heart, ad infinitum. This highly polished, amazingly professional, bunch of players, not only pulled it off but had the audience in stitches as they went about it. The cast were stunning.

The setting as you may imagine is wonderful, there is something special about an outdoor performance it becomes much more of a shared experience. The relationship between player and audience is a much stronger bond and the picnic tables added to the whole fun of the event. It was great to see an audience comfortably munching on their snacks as the show unfolded. The Shrewsbury castle itself looked wonderful in the evening sunlight and early dusk. There is so much more to share in this sort of performance. Those differences whilst fun, make the work of the cast increasingly more difficult as there are unscripted distractions, such as trains or noisy motorcycles but all these challenges were met head on and dealt with by this charming theatrical trio.

The design and look of the show were incredibly well conceived. Putting the audience into a three- quarter round and occupying the top of the horse show with the main platform, with two smaller subsidiary stages for depth and new spaces. Height and status are so crucial in a performance such as this and this was all handled with aplomb.

Directionally the wizardry is unequalled the piece is wonderfully directed, and the players so thoroughly rehearsed. They were safe, confident, and committed and the trust and faith they had in each other must be unequalled, one is sure. Sorrel, Ed, and Matthew played beautifully together and knew each other inside out. It is such a joy to see.

They say the gift of laughter is golden, this reviewer has sat through several shows billed as hilarious and never once being so. Not this one, no sir, this was a fully qualified, hilariously written laughfest and the puns, quips and jokes came thick and fast. Never overdone and never corny, just right the balance and it was superb.

The musicality of this show, the singing, the harmonies, and the whole music shop of instruments they played only needs one word of summary: Wonderful, all three players.

This is great open-air theatre, this is what theatre is for and cerebrally it takes the audience on such a journey. This is a greatly crafted piece of drama, its is well researched and written, well directed and so well designed. It has it all; including three of the most naturally talented, truly talented, and hilariously witty players. The work these three put in for the full two hours of the show is immeasurable, whatever they had to do to further the narrative they would do it. They went the extra mile, saw a couple more and went those as well.

In summary all this reviewer can say is this a truly awesome show, never mind the Sherriff’s gold this show is pure gold and deserves to shine for a very long time in all of the audience’s memories.

This is a Five-Star review.

Sofia Lewis