Tristan & Yseult

Tristan & Yseult description

Tristan & Yseult is Emma Rice's telling of the Cornish legend of forbidden love, staged with live music, comedy and movement.

King Mark of Cornwall sends his loyal knight Tristan across the sea to bring home his bride-to-be, the Irish princess Yseult. On the voyage back the two fall in love, and their passion sets off a chain of events that changes the lives of everyone around them. The story is watched over by the Club of the Unloved, a group of onlookers who see the lovers' passion from the outside.

This is the original production, first created by Kneehigh in 2003 and staged at the National Theatre in 2005. The legend has been retold across centuries and cultures, Wagner's Tristan and Isolde among them, but this version is Cornish at heart. Revived by the Emma Rice Company in a co-production with Alexandra Palace Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse and York Theatre Royal, it comes to London for its first run in the capital in almost a decade. The Guardian called it "utterly irresistible", and WhatsOnStage wrote that "every theatre lover should see it at least once".

The show is adapted and directed by Emma Rice, with text by Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy and music by Stu Barker. Rice was artistic director of Kneehigh, where her productions included Brief Encounter, The Red Shoes and 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, and went on to lead Shakespeare's Globe before founding her own company in 2018. She received the Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre award at the 2019 UK Theatre Awards. Bill Mitchell's original set and costume designs have been refreshed by Vicki Mortimer, with lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, sound by Simon Baker and choreography by Etta Murfitt.

Book tickets to see Emma Rice's playful, music-filled version of a love story that has been told for centuries.

Playing at Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace Way, London, N22 7AY GB (venue info)

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