by Richard Keown

The Three Musketeers is a joyful twist on the classic swashbuckler.

“All for one and one for all!” rings out the cry of the three musketeers and D’Artagnan in this charmingly playful adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s classic novel.

I had read this version of The Three Musketeers several years ago, and it struck me as a lot of fun. The words comedy adventure summed up the play so well for me. Hopefully the audience will see a different version of all the characters and story that they are familiar with.

The actors in this production need to be adept in changing characters and costumes quickly and easily and so I hope it will be a fun challenge for them.

This is a sword-flashing, silks-rustling production. They are all scoundrels, playboys, outlaws - the baddies are as bad as anybody could wish for while the goodies swerve sappiness by being as ridiculous!

It is fun, frenetic and furiously fast with many scene changes, settings and props one may not expect and charismatic characters that audiences can hopefully go on the journey with the cast.

Yes, it is a journey and a version of the Three Musketeers that they would probably not expect to see!

I have not directed anything like this before and so for me it is another exploration and journey of theatre directing for me. Having not directed for a while, I wanted to direct a play that hopefully will be different for me and allow me to explore and challenge myself, the cast, the technical people and allow the audience to go on a journey with us all.