Greetings staff! The Camelot Corp Christmas celebration is just around the corner… It promises to be a crazy night. Knight with a K.
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| Kelly Ann Stewart |
Join Gawain, the ultimate office everyman – diligent, dependable, and about as exciting as a stapler – as he prepares to attend the Christmas party of his eccentric workplace, Camelot Corp: a company of knights that offers the best cyber-security service, fit for a king.
Gawain, the long-suffering nine-to-fiver desperate to prove himself, thinks tonight might be his final chance of getting that long-overdue promotion, and more importantly, conjuring up the courage to ask out his workplace crush. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, it turns out, a lot! When a mysterious green figure gatecrashes the party and challenges the employees to a deadly game, it is hard-working Gawain who rises to the challenge. Suddenly he is catapulted from photocopying into a world of adventure, temptation and heroic quests, as he searches for the legendary Green Chapel – and his destiny.
From the comedy writers behind The Nag’s Head and Sniff, this is Gawain and the Green Knight as you’ve never seen it before: packed with laugh-out-loud comedy and multi-rolling madness. Expect magic, wild antics and plenty of festive joviality.
We caught up with director Kelly Ann Stewart to learn more.
What can you tell me about this production of Gawain and the Green Knight?
This production of Gawain & The Green Knight is a comedic modern re-imagining of the classic Arthurian tale. It follows Gawain, an everyman nine-to-fiver working in Cybersecurity for “Camelot Corp”, who is really struggling to find the spark in his life that he once had. He’s not really respected at work, CEO Arthur and CFO Lance think he’s boring, not good enough, and he struggles everyday to ask out his workplace crush, Gwynne. That is, until the office Christmas party, when an unexpected magical visitor arrives (SPOILER ALERT: It’s a giant green knight) who challenges him to game, which ultimately thrusts Gawain into a surreal, festive quest.
What first drew you to want to be a part of this production?
What I love about this version is how it blends everyday mundanity with mythic adventure - comedy, chaos, magic and heart all in one. I’ve always loved comedy, I watch a lot of stand-up and improv - not that I could ever do it myself! - and Make It Beautiful’s style of slightly-absurd sketch-narrative comedy is something I’ve enjoyed for a long time. I’m also a huge medieval and fantasy literature nerd, and I think there is something very special in the “hero’s journey” quest narrative that is timeless for a reason: it lacks pretentiousness, and often leaves you with protagonists you cannot help but route for, as well as immerses you in a world that has all the escapist joy of childlike imagination, while reflecting very real struggles or themes that are relevant to our everyday too. Lastly, I love a story that takes someone “ordinary” and puts them in the “extra-ordinary”: my favourite films such as ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, ‘The Truman Show’, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’, all share this absurdly funny reality
that explores someone searching for meaning or belonging in their life through an extraordinary event or journey, and those are the stories that often stay with me long after I’ve watched them. And for me, Gawain ticks all of those boxes!
What I love about this version is how it blends everyday mundanity with mythic adventure - comedy, chaos, magic and heart all in one. I’ve always loved comedy, I watch a lot of stand-up and improv - not that I could ever do it myself! - and Make It Beautiful’s style of slightly-absurd sketch-narrative comedy is something I’ve enjoyed for a long time. I’m also a huge medieval and fantasy literature nerd, and I think there is something very special in the “hero’s journey” quest narrative that is timeless for a reason: it lacks pretentiousness, and often leaves you with protagonists you cannot help but route for, as well as immerses you in a world that has all the escapist joy of childlike imagination, while reflecting very real struggles or themes that are relevant to our everyday too. Lastly, I love a story that takes someone “ordinary” and puts them in the “extra-ordinary”: my favourite films such as ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, ‘The Truman Show’, ‘Little Miss Sunshine’, all share this absurdly funny reality
that explores someone searching for meaning or belonging in their life through an extraordinary event or journey, and those are the stories that often stay with me long after I’ve watched them. And for me, Gawain ticks all of those boxes!
The story is given a modern-day setting, how does this enhance the story?
First and foremost, it allows us to really play comedically with the story and all the funny little quirks that medieval literature brings for a modern audience. But I think it also enhances the story because the original can feel so hard to relate to now. The original story is an old medieval poem, written in a very specific time, and very much reflecting the anxieties of that time, while also telling an exciting magical story. So, for modern readers, I think it’s hard to see that deeper relevance nowadays.
First and foremost, it allows us to really play comedically with the story and all the funny little quirks that medieval literature brings for a modern audience. But I think it also enhances the story because the original can feel so hard to relate to now. The original story is an old medieval poem, written in a very specific time, and very much reflecting the anxieties of that time, while also telling an exciting magical story. So, for modern readers, I think it’s hard to see that deeper relevance nowadays.
In the original, the exploration is about Gawain himself, and how he struggles to be a “true knight” because the virtues that he has to live up to are too hard to maintain. When we first brainstormed the piece back in 2024, one of the first conversations with the writers was us trying to find a way to find what the modern equivalent is - which led us to corporate “hustle and grind” culture, and particularly the expectation placed on us by those around us and ourselves to be achieve a certain kind of life or success. When we got into that deeper within the rehearsal room, it quickly became apparent to me that it also became about the expectations of how men should be - the expectations of masculinity - and perhaps what that means for people who are more sensitive or shy or happy to be living a more quiet life.So while the modern setting definitely allows us to bring a lot of fun and comedy, it also allows us to bring a lot of heart, and hopefully relatability, to it too.
How have you approached the more comedic elements within the piece?
Honestly, mostly just letting the writers and cast do their thing! I’ve been very fortunate to be working with some of the funniest people I’ve ever met on this show, and to suggest that I can think of anything funnier than they can produce just riffing off each other and having fun together, would be very misguided of me!
Honestly, mostly just letting the writers and cast do their thing! I’ve been very fortunate to be working with some of the funniest people I’ve ever met on this show, and to suggest that I can think of anything funnier than they can produce just riffing off each other and having fun together, would be very misguided of me!
I will say though, that I think my job has been largely to give all that spontaneity some shape, and understanding how far we can push things. Felix said something that stayed with me very early in the rehearsal process, where he said that the best laughs come from where the grand and mythic fantasy elements meet the mundane absurdity of everyday life - so we’ve spent a lot of the project trying to find as many of those moments as we can. I also think as the director, the only one in the room not performing, when they stop laughing at things because they’ve done the jokes a million times, it’s also my job to remind them that they are still funny!
But in truth, it’s mostly been using Make It Beautiful’s philosophy in the room: that we create from joy, and the important thing is that we’re laughing and smiling, as it’s far more likely that the audience will too when we’re creating from that space. Equally, comedies need tragic relief the same way tragedies need comic relief, so also trusting when we feel it’s time to stop undercutting, and get real, so that the audience don’t stop caring about Gawain and his journey.
What research did you do in order to help develop your creative ideas for the piece?
I’ve been watching lots of films. I mentioned a few above, but I’ve also been watching a lot of Billy Wilder films, especially ‘The Apartment’. I love the way he captures very similar themes to Gawain in terms of following an underdog within a very hyper-masculine corporate New York environment. It’s filled with witty absurdist humour, has a beautiful friendship-driven love story at its heart, and it’s set at Christmas! While there aren’t any mythical fantasy elements, it’s a great story that leaves you thinking about what’s really important in life, and I think it’s the tone that I’ve really been aiming for with Gawain.
I’ve been watching lots of films. I mentioned a few above, but I’ve also been watching a lot of Billy Wilder films, especially ‘The Apartment’. I love the way he captures very similar themes to Gawain in terms of following an underdog within a very hyper-masculine corporate New York environment. It’s filled with witty absurdist humour, has a beautiful friendship-driven love story at its heart, and it’s set at Christmas! While there aren’t any mythical fantasy elements, it’s a great story that leaves you thinking about what’s really important in life, and I think it’s the tone that I’ve really been aiming for with Gawain.
I’ve also re-watched ‘Lord of the Rings’, ‘Monty Python: The Holy Grail’, ‘A Muppet’s Christmas Carol’, and re-read all of Thomas Malory’s ‘Le Morte D’Arthur’ too. I think it’s so important to understand all the story beats that go into these kinds of narratives. Something else that’s been really helpful and I recommend to everyone is watching Dimension 20 - where improv comedians play Dungeons & Dragons, which is another great piece of research in balancing comedy and really good storytelling.
How has it been collaborating with writers Gabriel Fogarty-Graveson and Felix Grainger?
An absolute delight. We began working on this show in 2024, and immediately it was such a joyful experience. They are such flexible, collaborative, and creative people to work with - not to mention wickedly talented as both writers and performers (Felix plays Gawain, and Gabriel plays Lance too!) Their friendship and mutual respect really carries from their writing partnership into the rehearsal room and beyond. They understand the art of storytelling better than anyone I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve learnt a lot from them.
You work with a multi-rolling cast of four, how do you work through the process of the roles?
Luckily, as the ensemble is very tight, having worked together for a long time now, multi-rolling casting is very easy. We’re mostly able to do it before we even begin rehearsing - not only thinking logistically of who can play who with quick changes etc - but also in the sense that all of them are such strong character actors, everyone knows their strengths very instinctually. The way that Laura can change from lovely sweet Welsh Gwynne, to a rough-and-ready cockney Landlady, or Cara from King
Arthur to Mrs Duckett, so effortlessly means that multi rolling just becomes another hugely fun part of the show: “who is going to be who next? How can they transform again!? How many more accents can they do!?!” I hope the audience gets to really marvel at the talent on stage as much as I have been throughout the process.
How do you mentally prepare for working a production like this?
A lot of pre-planning helps. It’s a very technical show due to the sheer scale of the journey, the magic, and the multi-rolling - so having a good understanding of how we’re going to do things before you even really start is pretty vital to staying in a positive headspace. That way, when things don’t work the way you hoped they would, it’s less stressful! It helps when you’re surrounded by an ace creative team - Simon Nicholas’ set is beyond my wildest dreams, Cieranne Kennedy-Bell’s costume is jaw-dropping, Kezia Tomsett’s score is everything that I ever wanted when I said Lord of the Rings meets Christmas meets Dubstep, and I literally couldn’t have done it without Caitlin MacGregor’s stage management and technical operation, not to mention her so-stunning-I-don’t-want-to-spoil-it lighting design. In short, having great people around you makes the impossible feel possible, which is all you can ask for.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the piece?
I hope audiences come away utterly entertained, laughing more than they have ever laughed in their lives, surprised, and maybe even seeing that old legend in a new light. I hope our story is one that leaves audiences with that warm fuzzy feeling we get from seeing a story where an underdog comes out on top at the end, especially at Christmas time.
I hope audiences come away utterly entertained, laughing more than they have ever laughed in their lives, surprised, and maybe even seeing that old legend in a new light. I hope our story is one that leaves audiences with that warm fuzzy feeling we get from seeing a story where an underdog comes out on top at the end, especially at Christmas time.
Gawain and the Green Knight runs at Park Theatre from 10th - 24th December. Tickets are available from https://parktheatre.co.uk/events/gawain-and-the-green-knight/
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