Tales from King James

Our Review:

Simon Tavener - 18 May 2011

Creation Theatre are nothing if not innovative. After their recent production of Doctor Faustus performed in a bookshop with a cast of five, they are now presenting Tales from King James in St Barnabas Church – one of the most beautifully decorated spaces in Oxford. The piece was devised by director Helen Tennison and her cast and aims to tell many of the 'best stories' from the King James version of the Bible using only two actors!

With the 400th anniversary of the famous translation, we have seen many different celebrations of the text this year. The Globe did their complete reading over Easter, BBC Radio 4 dedicated many hours to documentaries and readings and there have been a huge range of books published. So it is not a surprise that a theatrical adaptation would come along. However can 80 minutes of devised theatre really capture the grandeur of a text that has been so influential over the centuries?

On the basis of what I saw tonight, the answer has to be ...

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Latest User Review

J. Morgan - 27 June 2011:

I wholeheartedly have to disagree with this review. The piece, although short, was moving, funny and did exactly what it said it would do on the tin: tell the best bits of the Bible. I also was unsure as what to think of the show when booking, but am a loyal Creationite so went along to show my support. I feel this was one of Creation's strongest shows for a while. The design may have been subtle, but it worked beautiful with the church surroundings. Direction was superb and the small cast worked amazingly. I shall definitely be going to see the two actors again in Antony and Cleopatra this summer!...

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