Seen through the eyes of the ‘Unloved’, Kneehigh’s critically acclaimed Tristan & Yseult, the greatest love story of the Celtic tradition, blends comedy, live music, grand passions and tender truths in an irresistible night of love. Read more …
Cornish King Mark is at war: he rules with his head not his heart. But he hasn’t counted on falling head over heels for his enemy’s sister, or expected the arrival of the enigmatic Tristan.
Tristan & Yseult catapulted Kneehigh onto the international stage over a decade ago. Since then the show has played to rapt audiences across the world, from roofless Cornish castles to intimate New York warehouses. This latest incarnation of Kneehigh’s most successful show sees one of the UK’s most innovative theatre companies tour to the Citizens Theatre for the first time.
This show might play very differently in its original outdoor context. But on this occasion I was left feeling as though someone had switched my bottle: everyone else got the love potion, and I got the dodgy wine.
What follows, as Whitehands makes clear, is a lot of leftover love that makes for two very different halves of a magnificent caper.
Tristan and Yseult is modern theatre at its best; an enduring tale told in an unforgettable and completely original way. It’s one production that is certainly worthy of its legendary roots.
Joyful and bittersweet, Emma Rice’s whimsical creation is a new story in its own right, and does credit to the company’s inventiveness and to its talented cast.
Emma Rice--Tristan and Yseult
Citizens' Theatre, Glasgow from Tuesday May 30, 2017, until Saturday June 3, 2017. More info: www.citz.co.uk