Four Nights in Knaresborough

Paul Webb

Tuesday 14th to Saturday 18th February 2006

Alice Corrigan and Liam Penny

The 12th Century: The Archbishop of Canterbury is dead and England is crying out for the murderers’ blood. The four knights guilty of the crime are being hunted by their King and fellow countrymen, their lives and careers are ruined and one of them has a bloody awful toothache...

This modern play attempts to answer the question of what happened after these men committed "the worst career move in history".

Set over the following year, in a castle in deepest Yorkshire, Four Nights in Knaresborough explores the legacy of history and relationships under strain. Funny, violent, touching and intelligent; join Brito, Traci, Morville and Fitz as they fight, freeze and fornicate through the worst year of their lives.

AuthorPaul Webb

Paul’s first play ‘Four Nights in Knaresborough’ opened at the Tricycle Theatre in November 1999, starring Jonny Lee Miller & James Purefoy, directed by Richard Wilson. It was revived in Autumn 2001, starring Nick Moran and directed by Paul Miller again in 2003 & 2005.

His first screenplay, ‘Four Nights’ was commissioned by Miramax. This was followed by ‘Spanish Assassins’ for Company Pictures. Both Screenplays are in Pre-production. His third, Lincoln, about Abraham & Mary Lincoln and the American Civil War, was commissioned by Steven Spielberg. It will star Liam Neeson and be directed by Spielberg himself.

Quotes

"Let us away knights, he will rise no more"

"You do realise we’ve made the worst career move in history"

"An extraordinary man must die – because he opposes the work of a great one!"

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4 Knights

The Bench Production

Cast

Brito	Martin McBride
Traci	Neil Kendall
Fitz	Damon Wakelin
Morville	Jeff Bone
Becket, John & Wigmore	Pete Woodward
Catherine	Robin Hall

Crew

Directors	Liam Penny and Alice Corrigan
Producer	David Penrose
Stage Manager	Zoe Chapman
Stage Crew	Mark Wakeman
Costumes	Sue Dawes

Review Knight's Tale Takes Time To Engage

The danger with a play in which the characters pass much of their time in boredom is that the audience will do the same. And the danger is not entirely averted in Bench Theatre's production.

Paul Webb's play, more speculative than factual, focuses on the time the four knights who killed Thomas Becket spent holed up in a Yorkshire castle.

It touches interestingly on subjects such as guilt, sexuality, love, faith, martyrdom, power, politics and parenthood.

But it comes wholly engaging only near the end, with the revelation of the supposed motivation of Fitz, the man who struck the first blow against Becket.

First-time directors Alice Corrigan and Liam Penney do well with the humour - often coarse, occasionally more subtle - but need to inject more pace and to discourage the otherwise excellent Neil Kendall from shouting too much.

All six actors show merit, with Dmon Wakelin especially potent in Fitz's brooding and raging, but the most encouraging performance comes from Martin McBride. After a slightly nervy start last night, he was supremely natural in making Brito properly obnoxious in his insolence and arrogance. This is a young actor with a bright future.

Mike Allen, Portsmouth News, 15th February 2006