Both were a lot of fun. Gulliver’s Travels was very silly generally, and full of fun little touches acknowledging the challenges of staging the outlandish story with no special effects. The Canterbury Tales was slick, pacey and hugely enjoyable despite the thunder and rain.
I’ve seen quite a lot of Pantaloons shows over the years (and I’ve written about a few of them on here), but before this week I’d never sat through a thunderstorm to see one. Mind you, I’d also never seen one performed beneath a rainbow, but at Canterbury Tales on Wednesday we had all the weather!
Actually, it kind of added to the experience. The thunder started rumbling just as we came to one of the darker tales, the Manciple’s tale told in the style of Edgar Allan Poe. And the Second Nun’s opera was accompanied by some well-timed thunderclaps. In the second half, the falling rain and sodden stage were incorporated into the cast’s performances to great comic effect.
We may have all got rather wet, and I may have seen them do Canterbury Tales before, but I’m glad we made it through to the end of the show. It’s a reliably funny adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, and with a cast full of confidence and enthusiasm, this is probably one of The Pantaloons’ best shows.
Gulliver’s Travels, by contrast, was indoors – so no weather worries there. (Though typically it was on a gloriously sunny day in Eastbourne). The challenges at this performance were more to do with managing the audience, who included stony-faced teenagers and good-natured hecklers. But of course the cast dealt with this with their customary humour and quick wit.
I enjoyed the Lilliputian finger puppets and their ‘close-ups’ – and the fight between the One Direction doll Gulliver and the giant rats was inspired. Just like watching children play with their toys. The yahoos were also fun – reminiscent of a memorable Sir Toby Belch in a previous Pantaloons production of Twelfth Night, and not all that dissimilar from a couple of characters in Canterbury Tales.
Both casts for Gulliver’s Travels and The Canterbury Tales are very strong: funny, shape-shifting, confident in interacting with the audience, and really rather talented musically.
And, in referendum week, both productions made reference to the EU vote. In the improvised tale at the end of The Canterbury Tales, an undecided dragon voter was defeated by a ‘Vote Remain’ poster. I bet the politicians wish it was that simple.
And on that note, I’m off to vote!
The Pantaloons are on tour with The Canterbury Tales and Gulliver’s Travels all summer – visit their website www.thepantaloons.co.uk for a full list of tour dates.
