A landmark dramatisation for the Royal Shakespeare Company of one of the foundation stones of English literature.
This two-play adaptation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales encompasses all 23 stories. All the famous characters are here – as well as many less well-known but equally full of life. Each of the stories has its own style – heroic verse for the Knight’s Tale, vernacular rhymes for the Miller’s Tale etc – echoing the many narrative voices employed by Chaucer himself.
Mike Poulton’s adaptation of The Canterbury Tales was first staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 2005.
‘Rumbustious and passionate… this is quite simply a glorious compendium of stories and poetry’
— Daily Mail
‘Scintillating… Poulton’s admirable version… what takes one’s breath away is the range of styles and emotions on display’
— Guardian
‘Mike Poulton’s superb adaptation is both faithful and accessible, comfortably inhabiting the middle ground between Middle English and the modern vernacular’
— The Times
