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Knightmare Live 4 stars **** - One4Review

Knightmare Live 4 stars ****

| On 08, Aug 2013

Ah Knightmare, so cutting edge when I was a youngster.  I remember those evenings after school, sitting in front of CITV absolutely transfixed, watching a team of children my age traverse the dungeons and forests of a medieval world, solving riddles and puzzles as they went.

‘But how an earth will the cast of Knightmare Live recreate that state of the art technology on stage in the Gilded Balloon?’ I thought as I waited in line.  Well, the short answer is that they don’t –  there are no blue screens projecting computer animated medieval crypts and keeps. No, the technology on stage is much more lo-fi.  Nevertheless the basic format is similar: a dungeoneer, two guides, Treguard the dungeon master on hand for guidance and the evil Lord Fear threatening to end our quest through the three levels of his dungeon at any moment.

The success of this format partly depends on the quality of the participants.  On this occasion the two guides were comedians David Morgan and Piff the Magic Dragon and they made the best out of their hazy memories of the show.  Treguard and Lord Fear also played a large part in creating the humour of the show, having to react to the players’ level of skill (or lack of) in keeping the quest going.  I imagine there is a large amount of improvisation on each occasion and it’s a credit to the cast that there were no lulls in the laughter, even when some of the action on stage didn’t entirely make sense.  I’d put this down to the narrative that had been inserted into the show involving another dungeoneer ‘Kevin’ who was trying to complete his quest alone.  In all honesty the narrative appeared a bit superfluous as the real fun for the audience came from seeing the interaction between the various players on stage.  It was also amazing to see just how much of the show many of the audience could remember given that it hasn’t been on television regularly for the best part of two decades.

Our dungeoneer was ultimately successful on her quest, an achievement that was mainly down to luck rather than skill, and it was clear that everyone in the room had thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  If you have fond memories of the show then I’d definitely recommend fitting in a trip to see Knightmare Live.

Reviewed by Di

Gilded Balloon Dining Room

17.30

 

 

 

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