adapted by Phil Woods and Michael Bogdanov :
directed by Christopher Honer :
music & lyrics by Gary Yershon :
Gateway Theatre, Chester.
Chris Honer presented me with a wonderful opportunity to return to Chester to appear in, musically direct and write songs for this production. The adaptation by Michael Bogdanov, which had already been performed elsewhere, used a frame of a theatrical competition. The challengers would each present a Canterbury tale of their choice, in which they and their fellow competitors would act. As with the Tales themselves, there was a wide range of styles, from the nobility of the Knight and the Franklin to the bawdiness of the Reeve and the Miller. I particularly enjoyed writing and singing the more raucous material. I was particularly happy to be reunited with my Cheshire Voices colleagues, Annie Tyson and Trevor Nichols. How fortunate I was, to be sharing a stage with such gifted and generous people so early on in my working life — I was still only 26!
