The Canterbury Tales

I went along for the last night of this combined Bare Naked/Class Act production at Rechabites Theatre in Northbridge, and quite a unique theatrical experience it turned out to be. It made me recall that just after 9/11 I was in a drama tute at uni and we came to the conclusion that, although it was a real-life tragedy/disaster on a monumental scale, it (9/11) nevertheless came within the broad definition of 'performance'. Before going further, I should mention that part way through the second of the 6 'Tales', one of the actors was taken ill and had to hurriedly leave the stage before collapsing in the dressing room. It happened so suddenly that the audience thought it was all part of the act, especially since said actor had done a very convincing death scene in the previous 'Tale'. How the rest of the cast handled the ensuing situation was indeed in the best traditions of theatre and worthy of the warm ovation given to the full cast at curtain call. We ended up seeing 5 of the 6 'Tales' - only missing the Wife of Bath's Tale, in which the MIA was to have taken the lead. In the Franklin's Tale, I believe Stephen Lee ad libbed his way through two characters masterfully, although the costume looked a little snug. It was a very funny show and I doubt any of the audience would have taken Stephen up on his offer of a refund. However, it wasn't quite as funny as the joker behind me seemed to think- heckling and laughing inappropriately throughout, even when SL was doing his 'state of play' speech across the fourth wall. It takes all types I suppose - and it all made it quite a memorable night out. By the way, I understand Pygmalion was hit by sudden illnesses as well - with crew members having to stand in for lead actors on very short notice. Well, as they say, that's live theatre for you!