REVIEW - You'll fall head over horse for A Knight's Tale - it's phenomenal!

On Thursday, we were invited to see the new musical, A Knight's Tale at the Manchester Opera House. Read what our reviewer Abi Holden had to say about this fantastic production...

A BRAND NEW musical coming to Manchester is something that I couldn’t miss, so when I heard about A Knight’s Tale, I just had to see what it was bringing to the table. Based on the film of the same name, this new jukebox musical, with songs from the likes of Whitney Houston to S Club 7 to Chesney Hawkes, is everything I dreamed it could be and more. The buzz in the audience, as we were waiting for it to begin, was electric.

The story is the tale of William (Andrew Coshan; A Face In The Crowd, Groundhog Day), who dreams of becoming a knight, despite being born as a thatcher's son. In order to help his dreams come true, William’s father (Giles Taylor; The Mirror and the Light, Shakespeare in Love) sends him to be an apprentice squire of Sir Ector (Ryan Pidgen; Matilda, Anything Goes). When Sir Ector dies, William sees his chance and pretends to be him in a jousting tournament, with the help of his fellow squires and friends, Roland (Emile Ruddock; Hamilton, Kiss Me Kate) and What (Eva Scott; Wonder Boy, Work It Out). Along the way, they pick up Chaucer (Max Bennett; Macbeth, Anna) who is able to then fake the paperwork so that William can compete as a proper knight.

Blacksmith Kate (Emily Benjamin; Cabaret, Bat Out Of Hell) also joins the group as they travel between competitions, to keep William’s old armour in check. William meets a beautiful woman and finds himself falling in love with Princess Jocelyn (Meesha Turner; SIX, A Christmas Carol) but has a contender on the jousting field and for Jocelyn’s heart in the form of Count Adhemar (Oliver Tompsett; &Juliet, Pretty Woman). Jocelyn falls for William, as they dance together at a banquet after a tournament and asks her to prove that he loves her by intentionally losing in his next tournament. He begins to lose his next tournament on purpose, much to the dismay of his friends, who have bet that he will win. Jocelyn realises what he is doing for her and tells him, mid-tournament, to go back to winning. This means the gang get their gold and William gets the girl. However, Jocelyn finds out that William isn’t really Sir Urlach Von Lichenstein and gets angry that he hasn’t told her the truth. At the world tournament, William gets found out by Count Adhemar and is imprisoned. The Prince (Jay Saighal; Hedda Gabbler, Great British Bake Off- The Musical!) actually makes him a real knight and William defeats Adhemar on the jousting field.

With there being a lot of jousting in the play, the horses are created in such an amazing way. The actors were on stilts, with huge horses over the top and it made the perfect illusion of a horse trotting and pacing back and forth. It was just so clever and so cool to see. The whole jousting sections, themselves, were a marvel, with fence posts and ensemble being used to make the two-line stadiums that people associate with jousting. It made you feel, as the audience, that you were really watching an old-fashioned jousting match. The ensemble also really helped to tie the show together into the perfect package we saw. They were soldiers, jousting supporters and, a personal favourite, nuns. The whole notion of nuns singing and dancing to Whitney Houston was simply comedy gold and beautiful at the same time. The vocals and the harmonies that were produced, throughout the whole show, were exquisite. It was so nice to see songs that you are very familiar with in a slightly different arrangement or with a show-biz twist. I particularly loved the way they sang “I get knocked down, but I get up again”, as a training montage. It worked so well and was funny too, as William did get knocked down.

Andrew Coshan as William was stunning. From his vocals, to his dance moves, to his comic timing, I was hugely impressed with the talent he possessed. It seemed, at one point, that he barely left the stage and, when he did, it was never after more than a minute that he was back and he was in a brand new costume. The stamina he possesses to get through such an energetic and fast-paced show is insane. He makes it look so easy. Emile Ruddock as Roland was sublime. I loved his characterisation and the way he personified friendship and loyalty. His comic timing was on point, despite him being the more serious of the original two of William’s friends. Eva Scott as What was brilliant as the dim, always hungry friend. The comic timing and talent on show was like watching a masterclass in how to be the fool of a friendship group and I loved the little subplot romance that What gets with Kate. Everytime she appeared on stage, she made me beam from ear to ear. I loved her performance. Emily Benjamin played the feisty Kate, the lady blacksmith, with a passion for her work and a strength that I wish I had, in more ways than one. Her Welsh accent brought a certain ferociousness to when she was barking orders at the boys and her vocals in the opening of Act Two… Wow. That number alone is enough to make me want to go back and see this show as many times as physically possible.

Max Bennett played Chaucer with every ounce of his being - quite literally when you consider that he first entered the stage through the audience, with only some papers to cover himself with. The confidence to do that, alone, was admirable. I loved the moments when he addressed the audience, as the only character who was aware that they were, indeed, in a play. He made Chaucer cheeky and funny. I loved every moment that he was on stage. Love interest, Jocelyn, was played by the beautiful and insanely talented Meesha Turner. She is a vocal powerhouse and brought sass to a woman who is constantly being told the same thing by men trying to impress her. I absolutely loved the moment she began with “Don’t Speak..” and the audience were on her side. There is nothing I didn’t love about this character and Turner’s portrayal of her. Oliver Tompsett, as always, was beyond phenomenal. His characterisation of the stuck-up Count Adhemar was spot-on and his rendition of “I Am The One And Only’ was stellar. His steadiness on the stilts and his wirework really helped to bring the tale to life. He was so good at being the bad guy that he got boos at the curtain call. That is how you know you have seen a good baddie (if you pardon the juxtaposition there).

Ryan Pidgen as Sir Ector and Man In Stocks was brilliant. I don't know he still aced all of that dancing whilst not being able to move his upper body properly. Giles Taylor as the father, and his many other roles, was wonderful. I loved him as the shocked bishop when the nuns were dancing about. Jay Saighal was a wonderful Prince Edward, presenting a regal air and some absolutely insane dance moves and vocals.

The rest of the cast was made up of the wonderful ensemble: Zera Malvina Aitken (Grease); Robbie Alexander (Love Never Dies); Lauren Arney (Stranger Things: The First Shadow); Arcangelo Ciulla (Mamma Mia); Georgia Clements (Gypsy); Zac Frieze (Disney’s Aladdin); Elliot Gooch (The Sound of Music); Gabriela Gregorian (Shrek); Benedict Hastings (101 Dalmatians); Danielle Huntley (Summer the Donna Summer Musical); Thomas Inge (Dirty Dancing); Lisa Kerr (Far From The Madding Crowd); Mehran James McCullough (The Dream); Ryan North (The Bodyguard) and Chioma Uma (Kiss Me Kate). Without the ensemble this show would have been nowhere near as energetic and amazing. The stamina that each of them required for those dances was insane. And they all made it look so easy. 

I fell head-over-horse for this musical and I can't quite explain just how phenomenal it was. I loved every single second of it. This high-energy, comic wonder is sure to become a favourite for anyone that sees it. It is in Manchester until 10th May at the Opera House so I urge you to go before it is too late. This show has inspired me to ‘change my stars’ (if you know, you know) and I’m positive it would do the same for you too. 

WE SCORE OF A KNIGHT'S TALE...



A Knight's Tale is on at the Opera House, Manchester until Saturday 10th May 2025


WATCH OUR "IN CONVERSATION WITH OLIVER TOMPSETT" VIDEO DISCUSSING THE SHOW

BUY £25 TICKETS TO SEE A KNIGHT'S TALE