Skip to main content

Review of Feast Of Fools Storytelling #11 - Sarah Rundle at the NN Cafe, Northampton

A bustling and rowdy crowd had gathered for the eleventh Feast Of Fools evening and it was all very apt for Sarah Rundle's telling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

DRINK!

Our introduction to the evening once again came from Richard York and together with Elizabeth they spirited us into the past with their ye olde instruments including that wonderful herdy gurdy again. The second half even included what was described as some medieval jamming (comment copyright Mrs Blake).

However the star of the evening and the one and only teller, was Sarah Rundle. Bounding onto the stage, dressed casually, telling us little of what a night we were in for. However for over ninety minutes and the longest evening of FoF yet, we sat, as is withing her palm entranced by a lively, relevant telling of the ancient tale of Gawain.

Made into a tremendously modern tale while maintaining the flavour of its origin, we were offered broadsides into quite brilliant PowerPoint presentations, a random reference to Brian Blessed, and a rant against British Gas (a very sore point I felt from past experience?). It was a really wonderfully worded tale delivered with glorious style. Just on the right balance between the traditional telling and the more dramatic style.

Us the audience (including the incredible boisterous and noisy yokels at the back) were all invited at times to get into the act, be it...

DRINK!

or in the first half a bit of medievel singing. The audience very much got into the act and without doubt were loving every minute.

There has been much to enjoy from the year of Feast of Fools, however very possibly this was the best yet. Sarah Rundle is deceptive at first, but while we may just be having a jolly good laugh during the first half, by the time we reach the second part, the laughter and joy has become the fully belly variety. A surfeit of laughter indeed and one to certainly try to catch somewhere. Perhaps the very best way to become a fan of storytelling if you haven't encountered it before. Now please...

DRINK!


Performance reviewed: Wednesday 2nd March, 2016 at the NN Cafe, Northampton.

For more details about Sarah Rundle, visit her website at http://www.sarahrundle.co.uk/
Feast Of Fools is held on the first Wednesday of each month at the NN Cafe
Full details can be found at https://www.facebook.com/StorytellingFeast and Twitter @FOFStorytelling
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Cruel Intentions: The '90s Musical at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

Cruel Intentions , released in the final year of the nineties, is a fondly regarded classic from the era, rammed with a collection of young and up-and-coming stars. Based on the classic Les Liaisons dangereuses , Roger Kumble's nineties update was clever and current; however, a quarter of a century later and now playing at Royal & Derngate, does it still work, and more importantly, does it work as a musical? The quick answer to the latter is no, but theatre persists, so what about the story? Kumble's adaptation tells of two wealthy step-siblings, Sebastian Valmont and Kathryn Merteul, sex-obsessed, constantly warring, and attracted to one another. When they begin a bet for Sebastian to deflower the new headmaster's daughter, Annette Hargrove, before the start of term, events spiral quickly out of control. Following in the footsteps of the well-remembered performers from the film does weigh on the cast. Will Callan, playing Sebastian, and Nic Myers, as Kathryn, are fine ...
Read more

Review of Annie at Milton Keynes Theatre

Annie was first performed now a remarkable fifty years ago at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, and since then, the tale based on a 1920s comic strip and adapted for the stage by Thomas Meehan on book, with music by Charles Strouse, and lyrics provided by Martin Charnin, has become a perennial favourite across the world. Indeed, this version, directed by Nikolai Foster, last appeared at Milton Keynes Theatre in 2023. So, after all these years, does Annie still have that appeal? Set in  1930s New York during the Great Depression,  Annie  follows the life of an orphan abandoned to the care  of its evil matron, Miss Hannigan. Annie seeks escape, and after one failed attempt, she finds herself the chosen Christmas guest of billionaire Oliver Warbucks, and things slowly, hopefully begin to improve for the little but fiercely strong Annie. Leading the adult cast for this tour now as the cruel Miss Hannigan is Claire Sweeney. Sweeney clearly revels in the chance to embr...
Read more

Review of Lord of the Dance at Milton Keynes Theatre

On what was so far the hottest day of the year, and the highest in many a record book, it feels a tad evil to watch as a group of extremely talented performers bring to the stage one of the most famous and most energetic dance shows to tour. However, arriving now at Milton Keynes Theatre, as part of what is now the still rather immodestly titled 30 Years of Standing Ovations tour, Lord of the Dance remains full of energy even on the hottest of evenings in Milton Keynes. I last and first saw Lord of the Dance as part of the 25 Years of Standing Ovations tour, four years ago (yes, the sums don’t quite work), and it was every bit as spectacular as you could imagine this world-famous dance show is. Born into the world from Michael Flatley and the Riverdance spectacular that preceded it, Lord of the Dance is a simple but effective battle between good and evil and the resolution of it through dance rather than fighting. The dancing here is, as expected, exceptional, led by the Lord of the...
Read more