The Three Musketeers, a Comedy Adventure

One could accurately record that this play is faithful to the storyline of the original swashbuckling French novel by Alexandre Dumas “Les Trois Mousquetaires”. The 1973 film version starring Michael York as d'Artagnan is often on television and familiar to many and it too sticks to the original tale whilst successfully injecting it with humour. There though the similarity ends: this play, being in the style of Le Navet Bete was very much about Physical Theatre with strong elements of Slapstick, Fool-ing, and repeated breaking of the fourth wall with audience participation throughout.  

I have seen some excellent touring companies perform other plays in a similar physical theatre comedic style to this – all professional – and this was an extremely ambitious production for an amateur company to take on. With 4 actors playing 40 parts and a dizzying array of costume changes (the programme claiming there to be 100!) this was heavily demanding of cast and crew. But the Hall Players delight in providing something different and they certainly pulled this off with an absolutely excellent production which had no weak areas.

The Production Team

The set needed to be as fast moving and as malleable as the actors and it rose up to that challenge admirably with clever use of a constructed upper level, and balcony. Downstage left was used as a bar in various Inn scenes, the quick addition or change over of props by stagehands in black stage right and a shielded area and a clothes rack upstage where quick changes were performed – all to the delight of the audience. It was essential that the back stage crew were on their game from the start and they certainly were, but so involved are they in this type of production they are often knowingly on the stage too and very much part of the show. 

When you have 35 scenes you have clearly set stage designers and stage manager a mammoth task – take Scene 24 for example being listed in the programme as “A clearing transitioning to Milady De Winter's Chateau transitioning to an inn and back again!” So take a bow Stage Manager Chris Kerry and fellow set constructors Mark Gee, Paul Armitt, Ian Kennedy, Pete Dewdney, Les Green, Clive Nixon, Junio Tomazini and Ian Buckley!

Very true to the style of this production, wigs and moustaches almost had a life of their own, deliberately adding to the comedy as we ploughed through parts of the story necessitating changing characters, costumes, and roles at breakneck speed. So much so that there was a dedicated Head of Wigs in Jane Robertson whilst Costumes were by Onstage Costume Hire and seamstress Jan Winder with Dressers Pat Brand and Lisa Swarbrick all doing a sterling job.

Lighting by Les Green and Sound by Pete Dewdney and Bob Cuthbertson ably complemented the production. On the book was Laura Forshaw although her work had been completed in rehearsal judging by the night I went. Gill Kerry, Maureen Nickson and Vicki Cuthbertson for Props Clive Nixon for Photography and Andy Bennison Publicity completed the ensemble. Everyone pulling their weight was essential for this production to succeed so great job everyone!

The Cast

The cast worked excellently as a team, sometimes in pairs sometimes in solos with the breaking of the fourth wall and audience involvement never far from the surface. It was difficult at times to remember we were watching an amateur rather than professional production, and that was especially reflected in the pace which never dropped from the off. 

We started the evening as we meant to go on with the fourth wall entirely removed rather than punctured as each member of our cast of 4 played themselves, interacting with the audience and here the cast were in their element fixing the feel of the show from the start. 

The opening and closing scenes placed the cast as children in the Musketeers Den and in between, despite the mayhem, the cast delivered the familiar story:

A country boy called d'Artagnan, good with a sword, goes to Paris to find his fortune and hopefully join the Musketeers. His rather impetuous and inexperienced nature gets him into 3 separate arguments within the day with Athos, Porthos and Artemis and he finds himself about to take on our Three Musketeers in duels. The nefarious Cardinal Richelieu's swordsmen arrive and all 4 unite and bond as they fight them off, our hero winning their respect. Love is in the air too as our hero romances the daughter of his Inn's landlord who happens to be dressmaker to the Queen. Various adventures follow, there is a plot to blacken the Queen's name, a trip by boat to England, her English aristocrat ex-lover, the treachery of Richelieu and the mysterious allure of Milady de Winter, scenes in jails, palaces, boats, on castle battlements, a convent and a confessional and a grand ball! Of course it all ends well with d'Artagnan a Musketeer and those famous 4 swords raised together. 

A real danger was that all these elements could end up running into each other, and the mayhem could get out of hand leading to a confused audience but in our Director Carol Buckley we had an experienced hand on the tiller and it showed, with excellent interleaving of scenes and some thoughtful decisions. For example, the frequent swordplay was dashingly choreographed (if that's the right word) by a dedicated Fight Director in Adam Cryne and those scenes clearly benefited. Our 4 cast members played several characters each of differing social classes, sexes and ages but they skilfully delineated between them enabling the narrative to be clearly and consistently established as the necessary framework for the comedy. The cast were having a ball and they brought the audience with them, the playing from all four being consistently of the very highest standard.

Our hero d'Artagnan was played by Tom Armitt and rarely has a buckle been so confidently and enthusiastically swashed! Great visual gags abounded throughout the production but his playing of both sides in a swordfight will live long in the memory. A performance of tremendous energy and a real talent for comedy and audience interaction, he fitted the part and this play like a glove.

Athos was Nigel Parsons who is from a slightly older generation than the rest of the cast, but rather than this be an issue Nigel's experience turned this into a real bonus for the team – I thought this brought a lovely balance to the team, his deadpan delivery often anchoring scenes and he brought the house down as suitably bewigged he played Kitty and Sister Mary. 

Porthos came from Bridget Sanderson who also gave a poised Queen Anne and such a beguiling, mysterious Milady. She looked disturbingly at ease with a sword in hand and her timing and interplay with others was of the highest quality.

Our Aramis was Kym Ratcliffe and again Kym seemed totally in her element, working props and impossibly quick costume changes to her comedic advantage, playing with real intensity at times, yet fearlessly at home with an outrageous moustache and delighting in an ad-lib. By my count she won the hotly contested most-characters-played prize, with the programme listing 15 including the menacing Cardinal Richelieu and the wonderfully-named dog Droolius Caesar. 

In Conclusion

“All for one and one for all” and indeed this famous motto ran through cast and crew – this required a real ensemble effort from cast & crew working in harmony to pull off such a tricky production so well. I make no apologies for waxing lyrical about this production because I am a great fan of different approaches to engaging with an audience and really enjoy Physical Theatre and this was a gleaming gem of a production. I note too that the three younger cast members above are son and daughters of core contributors to the historical success of Hall Players and this is wonderful to see. Hall Players long term future was threatened when they sadly lost their beloved Hall venue on Broadway (Broadway, Fulwood that is !) but it now looks assured indeed. This is a thriving company at the top of their game, long may they continue to take risks with plays as challenging as this production. 

I would like to thank Hall Players for their warm welcome to Preston Playhouse and wish them every success in the future.

Chris Hill

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