THE Liverpool Playhouse stage will be transformed into a 14th century London inn for the Northern Broadsides production of The Canterbury Tales.
A motley group of individuals – Knight, Cook, Miller, Squire, Wife and more – swap yarns as they gather for their pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.
Chaucer’s work has been adapted by Olivier-awardwinning Mike Poulton, and was first toured by the RSC.
Director Conrad Nelson says: “We don’t use any technology to tell the tales – it’s all acoustic and there’s plenty of singing and instrumental pieces and puppetry.
“You could have told these tales this way 600 years ago.”
But the language is modern, he continues.
“There’s a theatrical device where it starts off in Old English and everybody sits up and thinks ‘oh my god, not two-and-a-half hours of this!’ but it only lasts about 20 seconds.
“It’s very accessible.”
THE Canterbury Tales opens at the Liverpool Playhouse tomorrow and runs until March 27.
