Going to see Knightmare Live tomorrow!
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I can't wait I have avoided reviews so not sure what to expect, going with an open mind! I will tell you all about it after Friday
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My review of Knightmare Live.
Every year for as long as I can remember I have went to the Edinburgh festval and taken in on average 3 shows a day. I never go and see the big names (What's the point? I can see them on TV or Youtube for free any time). The thing I love about the Edinburgh festival is going to see bizarre but always surprisingly clever and hilarious shows that you would never otherwise see. I never book in advance. I never look online and see what's on and decide what to watch before I get there. I love just turning up, seeing what looks good, and playing it by ear. I've never been sorely disappointed.
But this year I made an exception. I can't remember where I heard about Knightmare Live or the fact it was playing at the Edinburgh festival but as soon as I did, I broke my own rule and booked it well in advance. After that, I read nothing. I didn't want to know a THING about the show. And what a pleasant surprise it was!
I'd already been to 2 shows that day before the time came to see Knightmare, and the thing that struck me when I got to the venue was the size of the queue to get in. I've never seen a queue anywhere NEAR that size for a show at the festival that wasn't for a famous stand-up. What struck me even more was that after I joined the queue, it continued to grow to about twice the size it was when I arrived.
Looking around it was amazing to see that everyone in the queue was the same age; A big line of late 20-mid 30 year olds all with the same happy memories of this TV show. It was just great to see that this programme was clearly remembered so fondly by so many people of our generation.
As we entered and began taking our seats, spooky music played as we walked past a very prominantly and deliberately displayed helmet of justice and napsack, laid out for everyone to see (and touch) as they walk past. Knice touch.
First to enter the stage is Lord Fear who introduces the show and promises us everything we loved about the original show "Terrifying monsters, deadly obstacles, and.......... word puzzles." The audience laughs. This sums up the nature of the entire show. It's not afraid to laugh at itself. But it does so affectionately and it doesn't detract from the gameplay once it gets underway.
Then comes Treguard, and the dungeoneer, and the advisors. The audience cheer at every catchphrase, but my particular night, the biggest cheer came when the dungeoneer went through the first door and the door noise "Whoooooshhhhh" played.
I don't want to give too much away about the show itself other than to say that when the YouTube episode went online, I was VERY happy to see the return of a certain character/monster (see my username). I was even more happy with the stage show...
Oh, and everyone's favourite obstacle returns in "level 3" and is every bit as tense and scary on stage as it was on TV - probably more so because the audience all get involved and start shouting at the dungeoneer.
As far as plot goes, there's a really creepy little mystery going on in the midst of the gameplay and it pays off at the end with a pretty fun and awesome "Plot twist!!" (Lord Fear actually shouts that out himself as the mystery is revealed).
The best thing about the show is the perfect mixture of comedy and serious gameplay. One does not overwhelm the other. The mood is set perfectly and the audience really gets drawn into the game, shouting out directions and instructions, and yelling/screaming at scary moments.
After the show is complete, "Treguard" tells us that as we make our way out we can have our photos taken with the helmet of justice (insert MASSIVE gasps of delight from the audience - surprisingly mainly female gasps at this point).
The weak link in the show, for me, was the advisors. I can understand the idea of having stand up comediens be the advisors, to try and keep the show entertaining. But the vibe I got from the audience was that we weren't really interested in them trying to make clever ironic jokes, we just wanted them to get on with the game. So I think choosing advisors from the audience would probably have been just as good if not better.
On the whole Knightmare adapts amazingly well on stage. On the way out, numerous people could be heard saying it was the best show they'd ever seen at the festival.
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