A KINGDOM OF FOOLS : A COMIC MASTERPIECE

I had no expectations when going to see this show, but after seeing it I was glad I did. As the main creative and director Ryan Aktins should be proud, as should the ensemble who as a whole contributed to and fine-tuned the vast number of verbal and non verbal interconnected nuanced gags in the bravura performance. Who would have thought that a concoction of medieval mayhem could be such a panacea for the times in which we live? Comedy reminds us of the foibles of the social world we construct, and also the things we share in common as humans. The show went for 90 minutes without a break or a breath it seemed – and there was not a gesture, performer, or prop out of place. The timing, the gags, the pauses, the French farce exits and entrances – it all went like clockwork, and quite frankly was breathtaking in its accomplishment.

You are on safe ground with audiences with broad comedy, with lashings of Buster Keaton aerobics, the Wild Ones and Blackadder buffoonery, Monty Python historicisms, and music hall audience interaction, Having noted some possible influences, or related styles, it must be said that A Kingdom of Fools stands on its own right. It is assured, generous, it knows what it is doing, and it is original. 

It bends genres like it bends bodies – of the punctilious knight Sir Guy Ashcombe (Brendan Atkins) writhing on the floor unable to get up at his first entrance, or the lascivious wench Ethel Fleda (Nala Davies) who flaunts her body in all directions to get the knight’s attention. Lachlan Atkins as the self deprecating flour worker, Gerd. Gerd’s inept brilliance is a delight in everything he does and touches. Yamo Rohling flaunts power as the risible nobleman Sir William Drakeford, who meets his match with the spirited innkeeper Meredith Welch whose property he seeks to seize. Ryan Atkins plays the pilloried commoner, and Alex Hutchinson-Smith the hapless cook, while seeking salvation Arnold Walsh plays Father Godric. 

Each of these performers were on their own planets – no one let down the side or rose above the melee. Who would have thought a tale of a knight’s visit to a far flung British town could be of such modern interest. Words fail to describe the minutiae of moments of delight that caused a continuous belly laugh. Gerd drinking the evening’s human waste; Alex Hutchinson-Smith typing to reconnect the head of a slain goat; Sir William Drakeford pontificating haplessly on power and the law.

Yes there were some poignant timely messages, about power, freedom, colonies, and class, but these were wrapped in sugar and in themselves found audience favour. Has a seance ever been so overwhelmingly devilish? Has a set – with all its props, chairs, collapsing table, chairs and all decor, holes in the wall and window, multiple doors, waste pans, dishes and leeches – ever had such agency on stage. (Head of Construction – Nicholas You Lee and Lachlan Atkins) Somehow the show found its light fresh touch from the first minutes of Ethel Fleda arguing with a cabbage – and it just goes on from there, relentlessly, truly with its own voice. We wish this young company all the best for future plans for the show. This was a truly independent show that deserves to be scouted or at least played to accessible venues. It has great potential with a general audience. 

Thanks to this young company. You offered a real unexpected gift of joy, A fictional world that resonated and connected, as theatre should always be.