Robin Hood : The Legend. Re-written is the second in the 2023 season of main productions at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

It is a 'new take on the classic tale, set in a desperate, divided kingdom where only the truly cunning can outwit the sheriff's terrifying wrath'.

And staged in the Open Air Theatre's wooded glade in the Regent's Park Inner Circle, the setting is so apt.

This production has been penned by Carl Grosse, the writer behind a string of productions including Dead Dog in a Suitcase (and other love songs) and the West End musical The Grinning Man.

Robin Hood : The Legend. Re-written is what its title suggest.

A dismantling of the one-dimensional folklore surrounding the outlaw to give us as a modern morality tale laced with brutal yet very funny black humour; excellent special effects; a focus on strong women; music and a storyline that almost certainly paints a more accurate picture of the desperate lives of those facing tyranny.

It is therefore a tale about then and now and, while by no means a 'merry' evening, offers a multi-layered theatrical experience.

www.openairtheatre.com/production/robin-hood

(Images : Pamela Raith Photography)

A hat trick of Hood's

Those of a certain age (ie my age) will have grown up with Robin Hood, the TV series of the mid to late 1950s.

It had matinee idol Richard Green as the righter of wrongs and doer of daring do's, and never any real threat in sight.

The series theme song has stayed with me all these years :

Robin Hood, Robin Hood

Riding through the glen

Robin Hood, Robin Hood

With his band of men

Feared by the bad

Loved by the good

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.

(How many of you are singing along?)

The legend (myth) of Robin Hood hails from the reign of King Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199).

It has nobleman Robin of Locksley returning to England from the Crusades (which were anything but noble), where he had fought alongside Richard, who remains out of the country on his religious war.

A spectacularly skilled archer and swordsman, Loxley quickly falls foul of dastardly King John, and takes refuge in Nottinghamshire's Sherwood Forest.

Now known as Roblin Hood, he gathers around him the equally righteous Merry Men and these 'forest fugitives' spend their days stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

They also manage to constantly thwart attempts by the evil Sheriff of Nottingham (a real 'pantomime baddie' if there ever was one) to catch the outlaw and his jolly band.

While all this is going on, Robin also finds time for a little innocent cavorting with the lovely Maid Marion.

Robin Hood – Men in Tights

I next came into contact with our hero, some thirty years later, when Mel Brookes released Robin Hood – Men in Tights, an hilarious skit on the legend.

If you are acquainted with Brookes films (The Producers; Blazing Saddles and Dracula: Dead and Loving It et al) I need say no more.

Robin Hood : The Legend. Rewritten.

And now, with another thirty years having passed, we have Robin Hood. The Legend. Rewritten at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

This is the second in the Theatre's three main productions for the 2023 season and it is a complete juxtaposition to other tellings of the Robin Hood story.

This is the Open Air Theatre, and so we must expect the production to be a challenge for the senses, relevant and thought provoking.

The Open Air Theatre makes a fitting Nottingham Forest, surrounded as it is by bushes and towering trees and those grassy slopes leading down to the stage.

The scene is made more brutal, however, with a revolving stage that has rock filled wire columns and a rusting centrepiece.

And as the cast first appear, it is clear we are not in gentler times of Lincoln green.

The costumes are apocalyptic, with the Sheriff's men and women in dirty high-viz jackets.

Robin Hood. The Legend. Rewritten still offers swashbuckling action throughout along with the heroes and villains.

As for the villains, Alex Mugnaioni is as spectacularly bad as Baldwyn (there was no Sheriff of Nottingham in the 12^th Century) as he is funny, while Ira Mandela Siobhan portrays a disturbingly, psychopathically deranged Gisburne, whose lust for violence is shocking.

As for the heros, the focus is on the women in this production, with Little Joan (Charlotte Beaumont) and Mary Tuck (Elexi Walker).

And Marian (Ellen Robertson) has much of the Scarlet Pimpernel about her as she looks to tackle the persecution of the people by her husband Baldwyn.

Finally, the Robin Hoods from previous decades, including the Errol Flynn version, also make appearances and, ultimately, a difference.

Needless to say, everything about this production is exemplary.

Robin Hood. The Legend. Rewritten is not an easy production to describe and also asks much of those who will see it.

That is to its great credit.

www.openairtheatre.com/production/robin-hood

La Cage Aux Folles

29 July to 16 September 2023

The final main production of the 2023 season is a musical revival of Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's La Cage Aux Folles.

www.openairtheatre.com/production/la-cage-aux-folles

For What's on at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre :

www.openairtheatre.com/whats-on

See also : AllWays Traveller to the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre :

https://www.allwaystraveller.com/allways-features-home/the-open-air-theatre-regents-park-london

Useful links

​ www.openairtheatre.com