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Wanted! Robin Hood
The Lowry, Salford
3 Stars
The Library Theatre team behind last year's highly acclaimed Arabian Nights have returned to the banks of Manchester's ship canal with their quirky take on the Robin Hood legend.
This year the razzle-dazzle and kaleidoscopic colour of a north African desert has given way to a grey, dark and altogether colder forest in the heart of rural Nottinghamshire.
Designer Hayley Grindle's set is impressive with its huge gothic castle towering menacingly over the dense Sherwood Forest.
In this intriguing adaption of the folk tale by Charles Way, Hood is younger and more naive than the traditional depiction of the hero bandit - and he's a commoner to boot.
His band of warriors are equally unheroic, more like bored surly kids hanging out in the local park.
It takes a little imagination to accept that this bunch would be able to run rings around the Sheriff of Nottingham and his vast army, let alone have the wherewithal to organise a mass redistribution of wealth from the rich to the poor.
Even so, the hardworking cast show great enthusiasm, with many of the actors having to play multiple characters.
Amelia Donkor, who returns to the company following her excellent performance in Mother Courage And Her Children earlier in the year, gives another assured performance as a strong-willed and decisive Lady Marion - a nice contrast to her distinctly wimpish Robin.
Writer Charles Way stressed the importance of a Christmas show having something that both children and adults can enjoy and there is no doubt that this Robin Hood will prove popular with a younger audience - but not too young, as there is an unsettling torture scene.
But it is lacking the subversion which would have delighted an adult audience.
That's a real pity and seems an opportunity missed. It's not as if there isn't plenty of material to work with given our current government's drive to create the need for more food banks and ensure there is an ever-increasing gap between the rich and the poor.
Runs until January 11. Box office: 08432-086010
