Tristan and Yseult is a show that has accompanied Emma Rice on every step of her distinguished and varied career: it played at Kneehigh in 2003, around the world in 2013, at the Globe in 2017, and now around the UK, produced by the freshly renamed Emma Rice Company. It’s easy to see why the production is a fan favourite: this show encompasses every dream element of a theatrical experience, from contagious joy to immense sorrow. It is a genre-bending masterpiece, examining the hefty topic of love with remarkable playfulness.
Tristan and Yseult tells the tale of the tragic romance of the titular couple. When Yseult is commanded to marry the Cornish King Mark, she must attempt to ignore her overwhelming love for servant Tristan, struggling to obey the monarch. Though tragic in conclusion, for much of this piece Bill Mitchell and Vicki Mortimer’s multi-layered set acts as a playground for a hugely energetic cast. Tom Fox’s dame-like ‘Brangian’ throws herself repetitively off the central circular platform; Stephanie Hockley’s ‘Whitehands’ struts down a high-up bridge to dramatic opera music. It is impossible not to be swept up in theatrical awe, especially when nearly the entire auditorium blows up party balloons and Lorde is sung by a group of lonely love-watchers.
This playfulness does not come at the expense of nuance either. Characters may be introduced as fairy-tale clichés, such as the snobby French Tristan, yet gain humanity and colour as the topic of their love is honed in on, extraneous scenes gradually removed. It is a masterclass in getting the audience on side, and then directing their sympathy and thought precisely where wanted. Admittedly some excessive bluntness runs throughout the piece, including a tacky ending in which the identity of our mysterious ‘White-Fingers’ narrator is revealed in a cringe-inducing fashion, yet this is forgivable given the overall energy created in the auditorium.
Fundamentally, this is a show that explores the question: is love a duty or something that can be led by passion? Every single creative element serves to explore this. A thrilling live band, with composition by Stu Barker, is synonymous with gleeful unbridled joy, whilst emotive use of pre-recorded Wagner (sound design by Simon Baker) comes to represent duty. Likewise, groovy dark sunglasses hide the grieving faces of those suffering the cost of romantic passion. We are constantly reminded that there are no black-and-white answers, even sex, presented here in beautiful crosscutting choreography by Etta Murffitt, can embody both ecstasy and trauma.
This is Emma Rice at her very finest, with all the engagement and joy of a family panto, yet the intellectual stimulation of a Shakespeare play. If you aren’t swept up in this show’s energy, then you surely must be AI. Tristan and Yseult is a theatrical gem.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
