Park Theatre – until 24 December 2025
Reviewed by Claire Roderick
3***
Make It Beautiful bring a modern twist to the Arthurian legend of Gawain and the Green Knight in this quirky and warm-hearted comedy.
Since the death of the CEO of Camelot Corp, his daughter has taken over and gone all in on the Arthurian ethos for the cybersecurity company, insisting on staff using Arthurian names and shouting “Huzzah” at every opportunity. The medieval warfare jargon used in customer calls is hilarious and Arthur (Cara Steele) and Lance’s (Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson) management style is hardly chivalrous.
Gary (Felix Grainger) hates being called Gawain, is unhappy in his job but can’t be bothered to leave and is viewed as a boring disappointment by management. The only ray of light in his day is Gwynne (Laura Pujos), who shares his opinion that the Arthurian schtick is nonsense. Handed his marching orders on the day of the compulsory Christmas party, Gawain is the only person to accept the mysterious stranger’s challenge to strike him with his axe and be prepared to accept the same in one year and a day. Gawain continues working, waiting for the arrival of the Green Knight, but as his time draws near, he finally decides to search for the knight and face his fate head-on.
This setup takes an hour before the interval, during which Simon Nicholas’s versatile set was redressed. Although lots of satisfying callbacks to throwaway lines in the second act worked brilliantly, this hour could have been cut back and a 90-minute show could be better balanced and paced. The change to the quest lands could possibly have been achieved with lighting effects (Caitlin MacGregor’s lighting design and Kezia Tomsett’s sound design create wonderfully atmospheric dynamics throughout.)
Writers Grainger and Fogarty-Graveson hit their stride once Gawain’s search for the Green Knight begins, via the magic elevator, and director Kelly Ann Stewart picks up the pace nicely. The characters Gawain meets are frankly insane but straight out of the original story. Think Monty Python/Maid Marian and her Merry Men/Horrible Histories and that’s the tone of this madcap nonsense. The writing partners have a wonderful eye for the absurd and Grainger’s reactions are wonderful as Gawain tries to cope with the medieval shenanigans surrounding him. Fogarty-Graveson is brilliantly deadpan as a range of bonkers characters; Cara Steele nails the role of the deluded and cruel Arthur and Laura Pujos is the show’s calm anchor as Gwynne. Shawn Chambers voices Merlin – the corporation’s AI that seems to be even crueller than Arthur, but Gawain still finds meaning in his life despite the digital devilry.
This smart and funny Arthurian tale could do with a little streamlining but has exciting potential.