Playwright Chris Bush strikes again with a politically driven Christmas play at the Rose Theatre.
As strange as it is to be reviewing a politically-charged Christmas play, it seems rather fitting for one penned by the writer of Standing at the Sky’s Edge, a tale of love and society based in Sheffield’s Park Hill estate.
The writer’s new play takes the traditional story of Robin Hood and adds a contemporary twist, with a focus on the class-system and modern socio-economic problems like the cost-of-living crisis.
The play’s over-arching theme is the difference in wealth between the cruel Sherriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood, Marion, Much and their rag-tag bunch of children.
When the curtain rose on Chris Bush’s Robin Hood and the Christmas Heist, the cast burst into spontaneous song and started the play off with context of the situation in Sherwood.
Though I was not expecting an opening song, and an acoustic number at that, I was delighted to see the Rose Youth Theatre having an active role in this play from the get-go, as they sung with the main cast.
All the adult cast played their own instruments, which was incredibly refreshing to see, as usually there is a DJ or sometimes a band.
However, unfortunately, Marion’s flute was a little too quiet in some of the numbers, which was a shame as you could tell the actor played the flute with passion.
The dialogue was witty and funny at times and starkly sombre at others, with the Sherriff’s ‘New Broom’ song being one of my highlights of the play.
Traditionally, the story of Robin Hood is about taking money from the rich and giving it to the poor, and sees the protagonist fall in love with a noble lady, Marion, and try to win her affections.
However, in this production Marion and Robin Hood are already in an established relationship, referred to as ‘mum’ and a ‘dad’ by the urchin children they live with.
The Sherriff of Nottingham and his aides were effortlessly funny, and his jokes were met with raucous laughter from the audience.
The lighting onstage was effective in creating different moods throughout the play, especially during scenes with the Sheriff, and when blue lighting was used for the more sombre scenes with the protagonists.
The Rose Youth Theatre and the four main protagonists were all excellent in their delivery of Chris Bush’s Robin Hood and the Christmas Heist.
However, as much the actors, staging and composition were well-crafted and a lovely escape, I would have liked to of seen less politics.
Although the story of Robin Hood reflects modern socio-economic struggles, at times, this overpowered the festive tone of the play.
Bush’s adaptation is far from the familiar festive pantomime, and although his new take is refreshing, be prepared that it has political bite.
