Written by Amber Lipman

Review by Hunter King

Pianodrome

As I looked around the impressive Pianodrome while attending The Edinbards’ new production, Nottingham, I couldn’t help but notice that most of the people seated in the arena style bleachers made entirely of retired pianos were the type that I would more likely see at a night at the renaissance fair, or sitting across from me at a TTRPG table than a typical night at the theatre. This was only sensible, as the show itself felt more like a well acted session of DND than a typical musical. Clearly inspired by other fantasy media, such as Game of Thrones and Critical Roll, while also taking motivation from folksy musicals like Hadestown, Nottingham has a lot of merit, if not for a few bugs that need to be worked out in the script and (specifically) the score.

The story is a largely faithful adaptation of your favorite bandit who steals from the rich to give to the poor, and his band of merry men. After Friar Tuck (Colin McDonald) is arrested and imprisoned by the Sheriff of Nottingham (Adrian Jieanu), Robin Hood (Stephen Park) and his merry men must find a way to free him before Prince John (Damien Smith) has him executed. While this story may seem simple, the script is also packed with side quests, vengeful lords, bureaucracy, fights, and a few overly excitable heralds.

Amber Lipman, who wrote the play and music, has said that this adaptation was important as it brought the story of Robin Hood back to its roots, creating a story more faithful to the centuries’ old writing than most versions of the story that have emerged in recent years. While Lipman is correct that the story does very much do this, there are moments where the plot can feel a bit convoluted or inaccessible if you are not the most rigorous Robin Hood fan.

Casual fans and crazed fanatics alike will however enjoy the performances showcased in Nottingham. Park leads the pack as the arrogant, yet loveable Robin Hood. He brings all of the shenanigans that Robin usually is played with, yet under the cocky facade has a real depth that makes the character interesting. Accompanying him is a ruthlessly tough Maid Marian played by Sarah Stanton. Stanton brings Marian to life as a self reliant and capable character, (unlike her Disney fox counterpart). Stanton and Park have a natural energy playing off of each other, and though their relationship is largely unexplored in the show, moments where it shines through are quite strong.

Serving as foils to Robin and Marian, are Adrian Jieanu and Daisy Wade who respectively play the sheriff of Nottingham, and Isabella (his wife). Jieanu and Wade bring tragedy to their characters, who are sucked into the world that is set forth by the princes, and can’t escape their tyrannical rule (unlike our protagonists). Jieanu has a stoic and intimidating presence, with a look that could easily win him any Kit Harington lookalike contest. When he enters the stage, a sense of unease sweeps the audience, making his semi-redemption toward the end of the show even sweeter. Wade however, starts with a sweetness from the beginning. Isabella is deeply troubled and trying to be confident, but largely failing, only managing to accomplish small tasks to help the imprisoned Friar. Wade is able to portray this lack of confidence well, but clearly has confidence herself as she had the standout performance of the night, especially vocally. While most of the music of the show feels like it could be reworked, Wade’s song showed a lot of promise and the power that comes from having a strong performer, even when the material itself feels a bit underdeveloped.

Additional strong performances come from Damien Smith and Alan Sunter as Prince John and Prince Geoffrey, who have a believable sibling rivalry but distinct differences in their personalities and approaches to royalty. Smith has a bratty and insolent Prince John that may be reminiscent of King Joffrey from Game of Thrones, while speaking in so many classic rhymes that he might as well be Dr. Seuss. While the constant rhyming felt a bit out of place, Smith plays the role with bravado and a convincing childishness that makes him both comedic and easy to hate (in the loveable way that audiences love to hate a villain.) Sunter takes a much more grounded and subtle approach to Prince Geoffrey, feeling much more down to Earth and practical as a royal. The two princes play well off of each other, and it is clear from the beginning which one will stoop to a lower level to betray his brother.

Additional characters have their shining moments as well. Colin McDonald as Friar Tuck does a lot of the emotional heavy lifting of the show, and has a very nice baritone voice that feels right in place for Tuck. Euan Huth brings a fun energy to Little John, with a booming laugh and ever present and ever pleasant big smile. Blair Flucker brings a vengeance and rage that can be physically seen in his multiple sword fights of the night.

Overall the ensemble of characters complement each other well. There are however, moments of disorganization which come largely through the music. Some songs feel as if the ensemble didn’t know the tune, and many times they would be off beat with one another creating a dissonance that made certain songs difficult to understand or even listen to. It didn’t help that songs were split throughout the show with some being played by live performers and others using tracks. While the tracks were well mixed and the sound design of the show was overall well done (especially for a venue as difficult to acoustically adjust to as Pianodrome) the best songs were certainly the ones where the band was playing live.

The songs overall were perhaps the most difficult bits of the night. Several songs were seemingly out of actors’ ranges, which is something that can at some level be excusable in well known productions, is less excusable in a brand new piece of theatre where transpositions could have been done and keys could have been changed. Additionally, the songs were all exceptionally long. The show would be served well to have part of its over three hour run time trimmed off, and largely that should come from the music. Songs like “beneath the greenwood tree” and “pass the gold” would repeat the same couple of bars of music for what seemed like ten minutes. This especially became difficult as the songs were not only long, but lacked dynamics to keep them interesting, largely staying in the same range and repeating a few simple rhythms for their full run time. There also seemed to be a disconnect between the music and the performers, with at least one or two performers consistently 2-3 beats off of the rest of the ensemble. This however didn’t seem to be at the faults of the performers, but largely from confusing music that didn’t seem to have any coherence with vocal lines. This level of difficulty with the music is disappointing, as it did bring the believability of the show to a halt multiple times. It is too bad because the story and the acting overall were very good, so having one element out of place made the show feel unbalanced, but I have faith that some edits to the score (including leaving many repeats on the cutting room floor) would make this show thrive to its full potential.

With this being said, the show is not without its merits. The costuming of the production was extraordinary, especially when considering that Nottingham is one of the Edinbards’ early productions, and their wardrobe at this point cannot be extensive. Sarah Baudouin (who doubles as Gisbourne) and Daisy Wade expertly have ensured that all costumes were equally fitting both for the time period and for the actors that were wearing them (and naturally both of them had two of the nicest ‘fits of the night). Rebecca Mahar’s Fight Direction in the show was extraordinary, and while some fighters seemed more timid with their blades, others, like Stanton and Flucker swing swords in a manner that is convincing from all angles of the 360 degree audience.

Nottingham is an ambitious and exciting new piece of theatre that was able to accomplish a lot with its premiere. Although some edits could be made for future productions, it was clear that the show contained a lot of heart that could be clearly seen from all angles in the Pianodrome. Like a good session of DND, I was able to leave with my thirst for adventure satisfied.

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