Robin Hood at Drum Castle

Last night we saw the Three Inch Fools perform a musical version of Robin Hood in front of the majestic 13th-century Drum Castle. It has been several years since we’ve been to open-air theatre thanks to covid and I’d forgotten how wonderful it is.

This was probably the best one we’ve seen with with slap-stick humour, witty dialogue, a generally inept Robin Hood, and lots of puns producing laugh-out-loud moments all the way through. The whole performance was played out by just three actors who not only did all the acting but sang and played musical instruments as well. They were all very talented with excellent singing voices and I believe all the music is original with the play written and the music composed by Stephen Hyde. The songs themselves were entertaining: one in particular sung by the sheriff about being rich and keeping the poor in their place had the audience joining in it was so catchy. It created a cognitive dissonance for my brain to be joyfully singing such obviously unkind lyrics.

It must be hard to project your voice in an outdoor venue like this but they all have booming voices that I can only dream of, especially when I think of all the times I’ve tried to call out to the kids in a crowded outdoor venue and failed to get anyone’s attention. The cast also had an additional challenge as in a recent performance the female lead sprained her ankle and is now constrained to one spot on the stage, doing all costume changes in full view. They managed to incorporate this into the act to great effect, bringing truth to the adage the show must go on.

They’re performing Shakespeare’s As You Like it and Robin Hood throughout the UK until the end of September so if they’re coming near you then don’t miss it!

Here’s the trailer:

And a short clip I took at the end.