EDINBURGH 2016- Review: MICHAEL MORPURGO'S KING ARTHUR, Gilded Balloon, 8 August

The story begins when a drowning boy is rescued by a man claiming to be King Arthur. He tells him that he has spent centuries hiding in a cave and proceeds to tell him his stories.

As a children's show, it is a bit of an odd one. The performance runs at 1hr15mins and by the one hour mark a lot of the audience were getting restless. While the stories are reasonably interesting, they drag a bit and there aren't enough lively scenes to hold audience interest.

The actors' performances are without fault, but the script is a little dull. The storytelling is accompanied by a mandolin - which quickly begins to grate. The stories are quite dark and I'm not entirely sure if I picked this up correctly, but it seemed as though King Arthur had a baby with his half-sister. There were affairs and simulated violence, and although the ticket suggests 7+, it all seemed a bit much for a children's show. Story Pocket Theatre are usually pretty on the ball with their shows, but this one just totally missed the mark for me.

Michael Morpurgo's King Arthur runs at the Gilded Balloon until 29 August.

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