It’s Not Even Raining by Emily Pisacreta

When you think tragic 12^th century French plays, usually you don’t think about an ensemble of men dressed in black raincoats dancing to Get Lucky by Daft Punk. However, Kneehigh Theater Company from London managed to add such entertaining elements and many others into their extremely entertaining rendition of Tristan & Yseult on March 12^th, 2015. Tristan & Yseult tells the story of two young lovers who enter into a dangerous love triangle, where the third point is King Mark, a powerful ruler and a friend of Tristan. Yseult truly loves both Tristan and King Mark, and she struggles throughout the play to love and please everybody. The lovers’ struggle is captivating on its own but paired with amazing set and technical elements, lively acting and engaging activities with the audience, this production of Tristan & Yseult was out of this world.

I wanted to be in this play, and I kind of was. Before the play started, members of “The Club of the Unloved,” the trench coat wearing ensemble that served as an addition to the age-old story, came into the crowd and “interviewed” audience members about love. Watching the awkward audience members get interviewed was hilarious, and the play only went up hill from there. With insanely well-choreographed and realistic fight scenes with fake blood and everything, actors that were literally swinging from the ceiling and a main character who spoke only in French for half of the play, I was engaged and excited throughout the entirety of the production.

 One of the highlights of the play came in a wedding reception, where the entire audience was invited. Frocin, King Mark’s assistant played by Damon Daunno, delivered a witty speech and then prompted the entire audience to blow up balloons found in their programs and to let them go when Mark and Yseult walked in. Then, he prompted the audience to give a toast and mocked our weak celebratory skills. While the first half of the play delivered in the comedic department, the second half certainly brought the dramatic and tragic element to life. Without giving away anything important, I will say that the girl sitting behind me at the end of the play said, “I just want to go home, eat a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and cry.” And I have to say she was not the only one in the theater with those feelings. The Actors in the Kneehigh Theater Company did an amazing job making fun, likeable characters that I sympathized with and rooted for because of their strong acting performances and well-executed technical scenes.

One of the most exciting technical elements happened when Frocin tried to take a picture of Tristan and Yseult. He was hoisted high above the stage with wires and a harness. The ensemble characters maneuvered the wires moving him up and down, and the audience laughed and held their breath as he swung above the couple. When he finally took the picture a bright light flashed and a huge flash noise resonated throughout the theater, mimicking a camera flash, except far more dramatic. It made that moment much more exciting and entertaining for the audience. Every technical element in the play was similar to that one in scale and excitement, they always added to the play, and were never distracting. They made the play easier to understand and much more fun to watch.

Tristan and Yseult had every element that makes a successful piece of theater and capitalized on every single opportunity. The actors were enthusiastic and funny as well as centered and dramatic. The technical elements were fantastic and did not distract or take anything away from the action on stage. I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish. This production of Tristan and Yseult was fabulous, and if you get the opportunity to go, go.