Ahead of the world premiere of A Knight’s Tale at Opera House Manchester – which we reviewed – we were invited to an exclusive dress rehearsal, where we got to interview the core cast. The interviews were for an episode of Beyond the Stage (@palaceandopera on Instagram) but we decided to turn them into an article as a fun, little farewell for the show (for now!).
Emily Benjamin plays Kate, a hard-working, widowed blacksmith who joins William to prove that her armour is as good, if not better, than her competitors. Emily said, “She has a lot of anger in the film; she’s quite frustrated – as you would be if you were doing a job where no one thinks that you can do that, and so everyone dismisses her, because she’s a woman,” she said whilst clenching her fist.
“In this musical, luckily enough, she’s been fleshed out a little bit more, and I get to have a bit more backstory, a little bit more of a development; we go on a bit more of a journey with her… I think audiences can look forward to us bringing a bit of 2025 into a story that deserves it, frankly.”
Eva Scott plays What, a young squire who is obsessed with the greater things in life. Whilst Wat (without the “h”) was originally a man, Eva uses she/they pronouns, and this What’s gender is never revealed, suggesting that they are genderqueer. Indeed, Eva said, “Our Wat in the musical is sort-of [a] gender-fluid, non-binary person but still maintains a lot of the comedy value that Wat from the film has – and the rage.”
Giles Taylor plays (William’s) Father and Bishop. On the former, he told me, “He gives him away to a knight, to learn how to be a knight, when he’s only 11. Mother’s gone.”
Emile Ruddock plays Roland, a squire and a loyal friend to William. “He’s this loveable character, he’s like the mother hen of the gang, of the squires, and the champion of William. He’s really, really fun. He’s a great comedy character – hopefully, he’ll get them lot laughing,” he said whilst pointing to the camera. He also said, “Brona’s [C Titley – the writer] adaptation of the screen to the stage has been really, really smooth.”
Jay Saighal plays Prince Edward, one of two real-life figures. He is similar to his film version but “He does more singing in this one – considerably more singing in this one,” Jay laughed. “In Brona’s adaptation, he’s described as commanding and mysterious – so we’ll see if I live up to that billing.”
“There’s just so much energy coming off this production. There are massive set pieces – ’cause, you know, exciting stuff has to happen – we’re literally not allowed to give spoilers on how we’re doing the jousting – it’s that secret, and I can promise you, it’s epic – it’s not even done the same way, potentially, all the way through,” he said – giving something of a spoiler! “But it’s very exciting. Obviously, it’s a musical, and all the songs are bangers.”
Max Bennett makes his musical theatre debut as Chaucer, a fictional version of Geoffrey Chaucer, who wrote The Canterbury Tales, which includes The Knight’s Tale, upon which the film is based.
He said, “The big thing you need to know about Chaucer is that he breaks the fourth wall, so I speak directly to you, and I can see you in there,” he said to the camera, hilariously. “If you love the movie, there’s so much there for you. But if you’ve seen the movie, don’t be put off, because it’s an amazing adaptation that Brona C Titley, our writer, has done. She’s made it funnier, she’s made it more contemporary feeling, it’s more inclusive, it’s more representative of our society now.”
Oliver Tompsett plays Count Adhemar of Anjou, a wealthy, battle-hardened knight. When asked about the differences between the original version and his portrayal, he said, “He’s definitely a little bit camper, a little bit sillier; we’ve embraced that. He’s a little bit more of a buffoon.”
He then spoke about the show more broadly: “There are so many songs that are just like stalwarts, radio-play in this country that you’re gonna enjoy every number, whether it’s, ‘Ah, I’ve heard this song; this is a typical pop song,’ or whether it’s just so ridiculous. There are times when we haven unashamedly shoehorned in a pop song for the sake of it – and our brilliant director [Rachel Kavanaugh] is making a brilliant sense of that and making the audience know that we’re aware.”
Meesha Turner plays Jocelyn, a lady of noble birth, bound to the church and encouraged to be faithful to God but enjoys the fun and tricks in life. She said, “She’s the same as the film but just enhanced. She’s got this feminist side to her that’s really shown but then she’s also a real lover girl, and there’s some lovely tender moments between her and William. [She’s a] very self-confident and strong woman in the film but she’s really given more in the musical.” Speaking about the show in comparison to the film, she said, “It’s a real hybrid – it’s a hybrid of Medieval times, 2001, and current day.”
“But it really works,” added Andrew Coshan, who plays the protagonist, William, a brave and loyal peasant who has dreamt of being a knight since childhood. He masquerades as a knight under the alias ‘Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein of Gelderland’.
On his own character, Andrew said, “He’s kind-of modernised from the movie a little bit in the sense that… like more multifaceted. [He] can be a little bit of a one-track mind. He wants to change his stars; he wants to become a knight; he wants to achieve his dreams, and he can be a little bit selfish – Jocelyn will not let him get away with that.”
A Knight’s Tale runs at Opera House Manchester until May 10. Check out our review.
Photo: Jay Brooks
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