Mr. Geraint Williams as Geoffrey Chaucer. Photograph by Ian D. Hall
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Cast: Geraint Williams, Dominic Davies, Daniel Murphy, Shamus Cooke, Alex Webber-Date, Liam Hale, Trixie Roddick, George Parsons, Angela Hehir, Faisel Yousif, Charles Adey, James Rooney, Lewis Smith, Imogen Wignall, Katie Overbury, Jacob Lowman, Madeline Smart, Johnny Campbell, Charlotte Wilson, George Trier, Darren Begley.
Minstrels: Darren Begley, Alex Cottrell, Sarah Peverley, Maeve Sullivan.
As the veil closed over one of the most enjoyable plays put on by L.U.D.S. (Liverpool University Drama Society) the smiles, laughter and thoughts of the future were on everybody’s faces. From the crowd cheering and applauding L.U.D.S.’ presentation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales to the look of exhausted but overjoyed contentment on the faces of the cast and the superb minstrels, one thing was possibly on all the minds present, just how do you top two years of work by perhaps single-handedly the finest person to have been in charge of L.U.D.S. for a long time?
The answer is never easy but judging by the talent that has come through the ranks of the University’s drama society in that time, it may just be that Ms. Rio Matchett’s time, the only woman to have held the position in consecutive terms, has been just the very start of plays in which theatre fans in Liverpool would take heed of catching now that the University Guild is almost back to its former grand state.
If you are going to bow out, let the new blood spring forth with the eagerness of astronaut placing the first human foot on an alien world, then you can’t take on anything better than the Godfather of English Literature, Geoffrey Chaucer, and some of tales that make up The Canterbury Tales. Not only is it writing of the highest quality but to hear some of the actors take on the speech patterns of Middle English, the subtle intonations and have it played out infront of four superb musicians, including Alex Cottrell and Sarah Peverley, takes guts, determination, drive and sincerity. On all four counts, musicians, cast and director succeeded brilliantly.
Limited in time to just five tales from the book, including the superb Miller’s Tale, the Wife of Bath’s Tale and the moral ambiguity of The Pardoner’s Tale, each was delivered with ease, the luxury of having had Dr. Peverley on hand as academic consultant and Ms. Matchett’s impeccable sense of theatre and timing, and in the cast the sense of fun needed to carry off this important production.
Each member of the cast performed admirably and hats off to them for doing so, especially when the theatre isn’t a natural calling but something you want to say you have enjoyed doing whilst studying for a degree. Chiefly amongst this talented and enjoyable cast was Geraint Williams who acted as Geoffrey Chaucer, George Parsons as The Pardoner, the excellent Angela Hehir as the suggestive and marvellously expressive Wife of Bath, Daniel Murphy as The Knight and the scene stealing performance of Liam Hale as The Monk. This was a real team effort, one that stuck to the premise and ideals set down and it was just sublime and wonderful to watch.
If the veil be drawn then do it slowly, allow the accolades and applause to die down before taking a final bow. The cast and instrumentalists really deserved the applause and to Rio Matchett, you can only hope this talented woman continues making theatre her calling. There are big times ahead for this woman.
Ian D. Hall