Robin Hood: The Legend. Re-written at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

Robin Hood is a well-known figure in British lore, but who was he really? A defender of the poor and symbol of the peasants’ revolt, or a green-tight-wearing noble-born royalist who ends up defeating bad King John? Who really owns the forest that he and his merry men hid in? Robin Hood: The Legend. Re-written explores these questions in a new and refreshing way, challenging the traditional narratives of the legend.

The story begins with Baldwyn, the Sheriff of Nottingham (brilliantly played by Alex Mugnaioni), who is raising the villagers’ taxes and keeping the king a virtual prisoner in a metal cage, drugged with magic mushrooms. Woodnut (Dumile Sibanda) and her father Bob Much (Dave Fishley) are two villagers who can’t afford to pay the taxes. Woodnut blames the Sheriff for her mother’s recent death, is threatened with hanging and escapes into the forest that her mother, a witch, loved and gave her life to protect. There, she meets two outlaws: Little Joan (Charlotte Beaumont), an ex-court Jester with stage fright, and Mary Tuck (Elexi Walker gives a strong performance in this role), a run-away nun. Together, they try to rescue Woodnut’s father from the Sheriff’s clutches, with the help of a mysterious figure dressed in a green hood. Meanwhile, the Sheriff plots to “purge” the forest of outlaws – but the outlaws, and the forest itself, have other ideas. Brilliantly narrated by the balladeer (Nandi Bhebhe), this version of Robin Hood is funny, meaningful and feels deeply relevant to our modern day.

Regent’s Park’s Open Air Theatre is the perfect venue for this show. The natural setting enhances the forest-themed set design and earthy costume colours. The sky slowly changes from day to night and the stage lights illuminate the trees in the background, creating a magical atmosphere. The production is not a musical in the traditional sense, but instead uses humming and folk singing to re-create what one may imagine ballads and songs passed down by oral tradition may have sounded like. The performers also use their breath and bodies to create sounds and rhythms that evoke the forest’s life force. Robin Hood: The Legend. Re-written feels like a celebration of the old ways, from the insights given by magic mushrooms to the idea of the forest as a conscious entity that has its own will. The message suggests that no one owns the land, that nature needs to be respected and that people should live collectively, not be ruled.

In this version of the legend, there is no one Robin Hood (although performers dressed as various editions of the character throughout cultural history would beg to differ!), but instead Robin Hood is a collective of different outlaws, female and male, old and young, all united by a common love for the forest and hatred for the Sheriff’s rule. The story of Robin Hood has been re-told countless times, but this version feels truly original and, even though the origins of this story are debated, authentic and believable.

Sophia Moss
Images: Pamela Raith

Robin Hood: The Legend. Re-written is at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre from 17^th June until 22^nd July 2023. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.