A Hampstead Hooligan in King Arthur’s Court

Adapted from Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

Written by Cchicago dell’ Arte

Directed by Nick Freed & Matthew Cassidy

Produced by Chicago Dell’Arte

At Boho theatre@Heartland theatre

Funny commedia dell’ Arte show unfolds with heart

The skilled commedia dell’ Arte players who formed Chicago Dell’Arte have mounted several quite innovative and pleasingly funny shows that were true to the craft and requirements of the Italian art form. Their latest production A Hampstead Hooligan in King Arthur’s Court, while funny and enjoyable, falls short on stock usage of the Commedia dell’Arte conventions. There are almost no sound effects, slap-sticks or identifiable stock characters. I wonder why?

The show does have fine wordplay, many zany characters and loads of humor that propels Hampstead into a quirky delight. Led by Ned Record as Punch and the show’s narrator, we find parodies of King Arthur (Sam Wootten) and his knights as they struggle to come to grips with  their crude visitor from the future. Derek Jarvis, Jessica Record, Meghan Reardon, Ryan Musil, Julia Rigby offered hilarious turns in support of Record and Wootten. The humor is a mixture of physical, wordplay with extreme exaggerations that pokes fun at the world of English myth. This production was a mini-commedia dell’arte show. The energy, quick pace and skill of the players made for a fun show.

Recommended

Tom Williams

At Boho Theatre@Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood, Chicago, IL,  http://chicagodellarte.googlepages.com/home2, tickets are $15, Thursdays thru Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 3 pm, running time is 1 hour 50 minutes with intermission.