The Three Musketeers

A huge thank you to Lynne, Derek and Bill for the warm welcome to The Abbey Centre. 

The Three Musketeers is a comedy adventure that follows the young D'Artagnan on his quest to become a King's Musketeer. On the way he encounters the dangerous femme fatale, Milady de Winter. After discovering that the Musketeers have been disbanded, he makes it his mission to get them reinstated. But does his feud with Milady thwart him? 

Noda Award Nominees for "Best Play"- Abbey Community Theatre, did a sterling job of the Three Musketeers. The piece was funny, witty, fast paced and well put together. The set was well thought out with sections for the Musketeers Lair, the Palace Balcony, The Louvre and the Co-Op Bin Area (!). There seemed to be some issues with the backdrop lighting though as it was either "On" or "Off", and sometimes in the wrong places, but I'm sure the technicians have worked this out for the following performances.

The piece opened with a brief introduction to The Musketeers, followed by an introduction to the actors as themselves. This seemed odd at first, but all became very cleverly clear by the end of the performance.

Poppy Kent played D'Artagnan and Herself, and she was perfect for the part. Almost pantomime principal boy, but it worked perfectly. She delivered her lines well and her asides to the audience were great. Next up came John Williams who played Papa, Athos, King Louis, Sister Mary, and Himself. John is a brilliant actor and really made the most of each of his roles. He had the audience in the palm of his hand. I particularly liked his King Louis!

Joe Johnson played Travers, Aramis, Cardinal Richelieu, and Himself. Joe is equally talented and played each role with skill. I thought the way he transposed from the evil "Baddy", the Cardinal, to his nice alter ego Aramis was genius. Tyler Marshall played Maman, Porthos, Queen Anne and Himself, and what a star he was! His portrayal of Queen Anne was hilarious - I don't envy his quick changes, however!

Next, we had Sarah Dillion as The Dog, Milady de Winter, and Cardinal Guard 1 - Sarah's villainess, Milady de Winter was masterly - she commanded the stage with enormous presence and was one of my favourite characters. Charley Gostellow played Bar Lady/Barman, Constance, The Louvre Guard, Pub Landlord, Compte De Wardes, Bertie and Cardinal Guard 2 - she was so busy! But not once did she appear rushed, flustered, or confused. She took each role by the horns and gave them her all! Well done!

Finally Craig Jones played The Blacksmith, Captain Treville, Messenger, Lord Buckingham, The Courtier and cardinal Guard 3, and Kirsten Mackiewicz played Monsieur Bonacieux, Torquil, Kitty, Playing Nun, Jeweller, John Felton and Cardinal Guard 4 - both actors did a marvellous job juggling so many parts - They had a mammoth task which they made look easy.

The costumes were well made and perfectly fitting, as were any props - including scooters and bikes for 'Horses" (I don't want to give too much away!). 

I thought that the way the directors, Bill and Lynne had put this play together was genius. Juggling so many parts among such a small cast must have been no small feat, and they should be very proud of wat they achieved.

The programme was well put together, but unfortunately is missing the required NODA wording inside for it to be included in the programme competition. 

I remember seeing the Abbey Community Theatre group several years ago and really enjoyed the performance then. Tonight’s production was no exception, I can't wait to see what comes next.

 

 

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