Review: TRISTAN & YSEULT, Theatre Royal Bath

I'm happy to say I've found my favourite ever theatre production – one that I'd easily award six stars, but BroadwayWorld's ratings system only goes up to five. Emma Rice's funny, poignant and exhilarating revival of Tristan & Yseult, first staged with company Kneehigh in a Cornish castle in 2003 and last seen nearly a decade ago, is now running at Theatre Royal Bath. Beg, borrow or steal a ticket. And if you can't make it to Bath, then check out touring dates in other parts of the UK and internationally.

You're immersed into the show before it even begins (not unlike entering Cabaret's Kit Kat Club at London's Playhouse Theatre), with nerdy folk wearing balaclavas, anoraks, large glasses and binoculars slung over their necks. This roving ensemble of love spotters in The Club of the Unloved sing forlorn songs such as Love Hurts, Bob Marley's Is This Love and Get Lucky by Daft Punk. A multi-tasking troupe (they remark on the action, proffer props, dance and play instruments) is accompanied by musicians one tier above a simple set (original design by Bill Mitchell, refreshed by Vicki Mortimer), comprised of a round rostrum, upper metal gangway, mini-trampoline and acrobatic wires.

Composer Stu Barker produces an eclectic playlist for his original score, melodies and soundscape. Think Wagner's Prelude from Tristan und Isolde, Yma Sumac (Peruvian soprano popular in the 1950s), Hollywood thriller soundtrack and traditional Celtic folk – all contributing to the quirky, clever and tragicomic re-telling of a medieval legend in a script by Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy.

Tristan, played by an engaging John Leader, is a young Frenchman visiting Cornwall who slays Irish invader Morholt (hilarious Tom Fox with superb comic timing). He's sent to bring Morholt's sister, Yseult (triple-threat Nandi Bhebhe), back to be Cornish King Mark's (commanding Edward Rowe) queen. Sailing home, Tristan and Yseult accidentally drink love potion. The Royal Wedding takes place, but Tristan and Yseult cannot be parted (does any of this ring a bell, King Charles?). And everything goes disastrously wrong.

There's a great deal in Rice's playful and endearing show, from musical numbers, James Bond-style fights, sensuous love scenes choreographed beautifully by Etta Murfitt, verse in iambic pentameter (a la Shakespeare), acrobatics and side-splitting jokes – from one-liners to physical comedy.

I love how the humour counteracts the tragedy. Fox excels in a second role in drag as Yseult's maid Brangian. In a tender scene where Branigan stands in for her mistress on her wedding night, Fox manages to convey broad comedy alongside heartrending confusion in the act of losing her virginity, while at the same time enjoying being with the king.

Frocin (Matthew Churcher) a friend of the king who's bitter at being displaced by Tristan, also supplies several amusing moments, including clumsily trying to take Polaroid pictures of Tristan and Yseult caught in flagrante (not unlike paparazzi snapping shots of celebrities) while lowered jerkily on wires. Despite Frocin's bad behaviour, we feel his pain at wanting to be liked and regain his place at court.

Cynical narrator Whitehands (a role once Rice's own) is played by a regal Stephanie Hockley dressed in a Jackie Kennedy-style suit, gloves, pillbox hat and sunglasses. She carries a handbag like one owned by our late queen. A musical director as well as an actress, Hockley also sings and plays various instruments in this multifaceted production.

There's something very pleasing about a silly, childlike, low-tech production. Love Spotters carry toy sailboats across the stage to symbolise voyages and red cloth spills out of wounds to represent blood. And yet, it's not just crazy myth, music and mayhem. Rice's company conveys messages of love, loyalty and forgiveness that are very grown-up – and resonate strongly today in a five-star show that goes right to the heart.

Tristan & Yseult runs at Theatre Royal Bath until 19 September, then tours the UK and internationally

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