A musical, however, is more than a collection of tunes or a rock concert in frocks: it needs a controlling idea. Like the Kevin Costner movie, the show emphasises Robin's aristocratic origins and the Sheriff of Nottingham's dependence on black magic.
But there is no book as such and the lyrics are either vapid, silly or semi-literate. "Byzantine" is treated as if it were a place rather than a descriptive adjective. Robin is told, unless my ears deceived me, "Prince of Thieves, you flaunt the law", and King Richard's Crusaders are instructed "Christians, fight the good fight, because it's us lot that make Britain great", as if they were all worshippers of the Sun.
The show's only distinctive feature is its jokey delight in anachronism. Robin's extremely merry men at one point don shades for a disco-style number, Hanging Around, and Maid Marian is plagued by a black-leather trio called Sisters of Sodom.
As a musical however, it has nothing interesting to say, is no more than competently staged by Bill Kenwright and, with the exception of Mike Holoway as Robin, Peter Howarth as the Sheriff and Anne Smith as a Morgana with pointy Madonna-breasts and tattered black stockings, is anonymously performed. Two dozen songs in search of an idea just about sums it up.
(Article courtesy of Heidi Tandy)