The Canterbury Tales Updated by 600 Years

A team of young theatre makers is turning Geoffrey Chaucer’s comedic masterpiece into a “rollicking, surreal and thought provoking night of entertainment.”

This new interpretation of  The Canterbury Tales is half medieval and half community TV talent quest.

Written around 1475 The Canterbury Tales placed the common people of Medieval England centre stage. Young and old, rich and poor, powerful and meek, these pilgrims on the road to Canterbury decide to entertain each other with a competition: whoever tells the most amusing and instructive tale wins a free meal at the pub.

Recent NIDA Graduate Constantine Costi spoke to David Spicer about the show.

DS: What is your favourite character from The Canterbury Tales? And why?

CC: Chaucer wrote himself into The Canterbury Tales and tells two stories to the travellers on the road. In an unexpected turn these tales from the great writer himself are booed and interrupted by the group for being dull, complicated and long winded. It's a hilarious twist. 

DS: Do the flaws of Chaucer’s characters exist in people today?

CC: Absolutely. We tend to think people from the Middle Ages somehow exist behind a distant, unrelatable fog. But if anything, these tales assert that even though we are living in an age of technological overload, human beings are still grappling with the same fundamental issues. Love, sex, violence and morality are still at the heart of our lives. 

DS: Examples please?

CC: The Miller's Tale is particularly interesting. Far from people in the Middle Ages being repressed, it's totally naughty. It deals with the follies of lust and how sexual jealousy can lead to ruin. 

DS: How have you brought this classic into an Australian context?

CC: Half our show is Medieval and half is set in a modern day TV studio. The audience are watching a talent quest filmed live! This is the arena where our modern tales are told. 

DS: What stars do you have? What special talent do they have?

• This show reads like a shopping list of entertainment:

• Brandon Vu, an 18 year old yo-yo champion

• Two tap dancers

• A stand-up comedian

• Medieval puppeteers

• A group of urban breakdancers

• A hypnotist

• Three soapboxers from Speaker's Corner in the Doman

• And the host of the show is indie musician Kirin J. Calinan. 

DS: Is there audience participation?

CC: No. Nothing to fear here. People in the first three rows will not get wet.

DS: Why should I buy a ticket?

CC: Firstly this is one of the cheapest show in town. $15 for concession and under 30s, and $25 for regular fare. 

It is also a daring show with a colourful surreal streak. It is an attempt to take on a classical text in a more profound way than taking the old words and putting them in modern clothing. We are boldly delving into the marrow of Chaucer's work and examining its depths. What did story telling mean then? What does it mean now? And is the human spirit drowning in an age of technological overload?

www.newtheatre.org.au/the-canterbury-tales/

NEW THEATRE, Newtown from Wednesday 15 July to Saturday 1 August, 2015.