GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
Park Theatre
★★★★
“an uproariously funny adaptation”
The story of Gawain is a deeply serious one – a man who takes on a mighty quest for his pride. However, this production playing in the Park90 space at Park Theatre is anything but serious.
Gawain and the Green Knight tells the story of a truly boring man (played by co-writer Felix Grainger) who is set to get fired from his cybersecurity job, where the company is taking on dramatic changes inspired by the Middle Ages (and a little bit of AI). Gawain pleads with his superiors, but they are simply appalled by his lack of a spark. As Gawain gets sacked and goes down the elevator, his world turns upside down and he finds himself in a completely different era, where he must now go on a journey to find the Green Knight.
We’re initially situated in a regular office environment, but Simon Nicholas’ set transforms seamlessly into the Middle Ages, with the nifty elevator in the middle of the playing space providing a useful tool to transport Gawain through time. Kelly Ann Stewart’s direction brings us along on Gawain’s mission through a variety of obscure and hilarious challenges, utilising the very malleable cast of four at her disposal. The firing of Gawain in the first act is executed hilariously, as Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson as Lance and Cara Steele as Arthur maintain a great back-and-forth, with Laura Pujos as Guinevere being the helpless bystander in the background. The writing is witty and the jokes feel effortless, yet relentless, with most of them landing like a treat. Despite the constant comedy we enjoy in the first act, we are reminded of the heart of the story through Laura Pujos’ beautiful singing that stops the show, as she steps forward singing through tears, which enables the audience to fall in love with Guinevere and begin rooting for her and Gawain. After the musical interruption, the comedy continues to thrive into the second act, with lyrical words of the original story being filtered in throughout. The laughs actually intensify as Gawain explores the Middle Ages, and the ensemble alternate in playing different wacky characters that Gawain has to befriend. Just as the comedy reaches an absolute peak in the second act, it does slightly simmer, losing momentum, and perhaps Gawain’s quest begins to go on for too long, but the story gets wrapped up nicely, leaving audience members with a feel-good factor by the end.
Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson has such a skill in deadpan comedy and is able to amplify any line of text he is speaking – which is surely helped by him co-writing the piece (with Felix Grainger). Cara Steele has an excellent physicality she uses to embody the wide range of characters she has to portray and Laura Pujos uses her voice so adeptly to distinguish between her different roles. Felix Grainger plays the perfect hero in this story, with his puppy-dog eyes enabling the audience to feel a paternal quality when Gawain is faced with danger. He is such clarity and is so crisp in his dialogue, ensuring we don’t miss a word.
This is an uproariously funny adaptation that fully justifies its attachment to the source material, yet also becoming its own completely separate entity. This production undoubtedly deserves a future life where it can hopefully expand and be given a chance to grow this world even more.
GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT
Park Theatre
Reviewed on 12th December 2025
by James Simons
Photography by Kira Turnpenny
