The Three Musketeers

The audience were intrigued when we walked into the church hall to see the production of The Three Musketeers by 'H`All Things Drama', there were a couple of grey brick facades on the stage area a red cloth with a gold cross on covered an elevated scaffold section and in the centre on the wall above the stage there was a printed image that depicted a stained glass window. Yellow tape had been placed on the floor as a do not cross line to keep the audience safe while the swordplay swished at the side and in front  of them. The various characters in the cast brought on their own props and extra scenery sections - this helps keep the flow of the performance instead of always dropping to a blackout. I was amazed that everything else needed for the whole performance were kept behind the brick facades and also cast members when they weren't needed on the stage. There are no microphones in this space so it all relies upon the actors projection, the lighting was sympathetic to the scenes.

The costumes designed and constructed by Rissa Grant were stunning, they were bright, they were elegant, they fitted the characters and they had plenty of frou- ribbons, lace, gold braiding ETC. The sword play choreography by Christopher Williams was exciting, it was close up action, it didn't feel like the actors held back-it felt very real.

Mark Harrison as Cardinal Richelieu was every inch the slimy villain. His timing was good, his projection was great, his use of his stage space and connection with the audience was excellent. Adrian Middleton as King Louis gave us a good characterisation, but personally I do feel that he could have been even more over the top. Russell Mansfield as Aramis, Tyler Crane as Porthos and Adam Moss as Athos were a great trio as The Three Musketeers, they had each grasped their characterisations well and padded them out with extra affectations - I particularly enjoyed seeing Porthos trying to eat everything in sight. Mireia Cassou as Queen Anne gave us a lovely solid performance, her projection was good, her use of her stage space was great and she had a lovely connection with the audience, her scenes with Soph Moss as Constance enabled us to see her emotional side and they both had some lovely chemistry on stage. Marie Williamson as M`Lady De Winter/Sophie Delacroix for me personally lacked a little pace, she has quite a quiet voice so at times it was difficult to hear her dialogue - I did however like the darker side of her characterisation and I can't wait to see this develop further in future characterisations in productions. Anjel Stevenson-Taylor as M. de Treville /Mother Abbess delighted me with her two very different characterisations, it can be difficult to play two different characters within one production however Anjel did it with ease and aplomb, her projection was good, her use of stage space was good and her chemistry with the rest of the cast was evident. Kyle Briggs-Williams as D`Artagnan de Beaugency and Marina Mercer as his annoying, precocious little sister had some great scenes together on stage. At times it was difficult to hear his dialogue, but that could have been part of his characterisation. The swordplay by all the characters was excellent and I really do commend Christopher Williamson upon his sword choreography and execution.

Thank you for inviting me. I enjoyed the production and I look forward to seeing you soon.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.