On this drizzly evening, the rose garden of St Paul’s church twinkles with fairylights. Bunting laces the trees, and the grass is trodden with glitter. Iris theatre company’s summer festival is the perfect set-up for a story steeped in magic and mystery.
Arthur/Merlin has all the ingredients for an ideal family show: a dangerous quest, an ageing wizard, stone-skimming competitions. The high-energy start is full of big promises, a folksy feel immediately warming us to the cast of four. But as the show goes on, leading us through the troublesome woods and into the big city where a myth-laden sword is lodged in stone, the show loses its way.
Michael Elcock plays Arthur, or Spud as he’s known here – a demeaning nickname given by his bully brother Kaye. Kate Donnachie is our 400-year-old Merlin, looking like she’s lost at Glastonbury in a flower crown and flowing robe. The pair play off each other well, Merlin’s frustration and Arthur’s growing bewilderment creating natural comedy. As they trek through the forest on their way to the city, for a quest that Merlin refuses to reveal, they are interrupted by mystics, con artists, and kind strangers, all played by quick-changing Gina Jamieson and Lloyd Gorman.
Though the characters are all intriguing, there’s a strange unevenness to the pacing, as Arthur repeatedly goes backwards in his quest to make up for mistakes he has made along the way. The more miles they cover, the more the main adventure gets sidelined for complex backstories and moral learnings. Reuben Johnson’s script has elements of real fun, but can’t settle on its audience. It lectures too much to adults, yet moves too slowly for kids.
Paul-Ryan Carberry’s direction smartly navigates the traverse outdoor staging – and it really is beautiful, with the lights around us gleaming as the sun goes down. Strangely, considering the small space and the show’s generally delicate feel, the cast all use mics – jarringly loud and vaguely tinny – while projecting as if they’re not wearing them. Elcock is the star of this charming but uneven show, which could do with fewer messy morals and more rip-roaring adventure.
Arthur/Merlin is at Iris theatre, London, until 22 August.
