So he and a raggle-taggle band make a journey across England and into Wales in which violent death and suffering lie around every corner. And findning such a play in Shaftesbury Avenue seems as likely as discovering mermaids frolicking in the fountains of Trafalgar Square. Yet this proves to be a strangely beguiling evening that constantly confounds one's expectations. Peter Barnes, best known for The Ruling Class and Red Noses , may now be the playwright that time forgot, but he is blessed with remarkable dramatic vision and a terrific sense of humour. You expect an evening of unrelieved gloom, but laughter keeps breaking out amid the carnage.
People make hilarious speeches just before their throats are cut.
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, comes on and complains of the terrible difficulty he always has in finding a horse. In the middle of a wedding service, Jesus climbs down from a crucifix and launches into a stream of Jewish jokes. It doesn't all work. With so large a cast, not all the characters come into clear definition. Some of the gags make you cringe.