A Review of The RSC’s Production of The Heart of Robin Hood – Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, December 2011

For me the problem with playwright David Farr’s, The Heart of Robin Hood, is that it feels as if it had been written quite some time ago, and possibly for a boy band who, for whatever reason, turned it down, which is a pity, because it has the possibility of being a very good show which nonetheless, in its present form, lacks spark and spirit.

Let me try and explain.

Last year’s RSC Christmas show was Matilda, which fired (and is still firing in London’s West End) on all twelve cylinders, fuelled by exquisite writing, great songs, and utterly superb performances which grabbed the audiences and thrilled them. It’s what all good Christmas shows should do, it’s what pantomime does – create a world that is totally beyond belief and then make it totally believable. The Heart of Robin Hood tries to do this but can’t because the engine has been down-graded, leaving the actors struggling with a confused and incomplete concept.

The show starts well with a lovely melodic song from the bumbling and comic character of Pierre (played superbly by Icelandic actor Olafur Darri Olafsson) which felt as if it was the first of many songs that would, in true pantomime fashion, push the narrative along, as was the case with Matilda. But that was it: just one song; it was a huge disappointment.

I know the show was never advertised as a musical, but it screams out to at least be a play with songs, which the RSC at its best can do superbly well.

That’s what makes me think it was originally written for a boy band which would work wonderfully well because James McArdle’s Robin Hood leads a good looking bunch of merry men who often find themselves well placed to sing the odd song or two in Take That style that would have brought the pre-teen house down, as would the odd love duet between Robin and Iris Roberts’ gorgeous Marion. It just felt as if the songs had once been there, but had, in the icy hands of director Gisli Orn Gardarsson been removed for health and safety reasons.

What could have been a thumping great hit has, in my opinion, been reduced to a small, yet quiet charming show which could easily disappear without trace come the new year.

And it is a charming show that does entertain well with superb performances, especially from Martin Hutson, whose Prince John is a lovely collection of James Bond baddies mixed with the slightly more evil concoctions set against Harry Potter. He’s so good he almost make you like him for a split second or two.

Michael Walter’s Little John is a very brave and very funny characterisation that steals scene after scene, as does Peter Bray’s clarinet playing Plug the Dog, which is a clever invention and another pointer toward the show’s true metier.

The set is splendid, although the beautiful boughs of the great oak are far too high and therefore lost to the audience whose attention is, for the most part, directed toward the great green sward that is used wonderfully as a slide to get actors down at an alarming rate before they have to slog back up again. Had the boughs been another six feet or so lower the effect would have been stunning and given the actors something to climb onto.

So, a charming show that is certainly worth seeing, but not a show anyone will really remember.

Mr Farr get a good composer and lyricist and rework The Heart of Robin Hood into a show that could become a true classic.