Anna Burnside reviews the tour of the acclaimed modern theatrical classic.
Welcome to the Club of the Unloved, a cabaret where the socially and physically awkward stand at the sidelines and observe the swooning highs and lows of the genetically blessed.
As well as making notes in little pads, they sing contemporary ballads, sometimes with staggering poignancy, at other times to immense comic effect.
The Club of the Unloved is the framing device for Emma Rice Company’s Tristan and Yseult, first performed in 2003. Since then, it has become a legendary version of a medieval legend. It is mercifully free of cloaks and dragons and has only a few essential swords.
Its bold, playful use of - in no particular order - clown, skipping, ariel, charades, the Lindyhop and Monty Pythonesque cross-dressing has influenced much of the theatre of the last two decades.
At heart it’s a love triangle set in an age where virginity is a marriage prerequisite, with the added complication of a love potion that makes Viagra look like pick’n’mix. It raises profound questions about the relationship between love, sex and loneliness.
Central to this is Tom Fox’s outstanding turn as Branigan, the maidservant who stands in for her mistress on her wedding night. He is both the central comedic turn and the emotional heart of a show.
Having him, in socks and headscarf, opening the second act with Raye’s ‘Where is my Husband!’, is just one of Rice’s many directorial masterstrokes.
When she first adapted, this 12th-century Cornish tale for the Kneehigh Theatre Company, dating apps were a twinkle in the internet’s eye.
Today, when so many social interactions are mediated through a screen and isolation is a public health issue, the Club of the Unloved is more affecting than ever.
Tristan and Yseult completed its run at Citizens Theatre. It continues to tour with dates in the UK and New York City throughout 2026 and 2027, including a run at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh (20-24 October 2026). For further details, go to the production’s website.
Photo by Steve Tanner.
RSS