Get ready for sword fights and quarterstaffs as Robin Hood swashbuckles in Seattle's backyard

Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor in Village Theatre’s production of "Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood," now playing in Issaquah with an upcoming run next month at the Village Theatre in Everett. This production, based on the book by award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig, is a quick-witted and farcical tale of a fight against tyranny. And in this case, the fight is literal — with swords, arrows, and a slew of insults.

The hijinks are plentiful and the writing from Ludwig is clearly meant to be the lighthearted journey of a young man who is thrust into a movement for justice. Robin Hood’s character arc moves from a charming noble, whose life takes an abrupt shift when a villager who has been accused of stealing, is about to have his hands cut off on Robin Hood’s property.

This event is the spark that sets Robin Hood ablaze in his fight for justice. Before this moment, he was oblivious to the plight of the poor villagers, who in the absence of their king, had fallen victim to the greed and corruption of the king's brother, who had seized control of the land.

Here’s what to expect

This production is packed with puns, tricks, pranks, and jokes, but what stands out most is the fight choreography. The onstage sword fighting was great and there was a captivating scene when Robin Hood, played by Ricky Spaulding, and Little John, played by Quinlan Corbett, have a duel on top of a fallen tree using quarterstaffs. It was a great scene! The balance of the narrow log, the swinging of the large sticks, and the speed and coordination necessary to pull it off well was a very high degree of difficulty that provided an excellent spectacle for the audience.

The battles with swords, quarterstaffs, and even the way they managed to use bows to shoot arrows on stage was a delight. The multi-level staging and the use of a rotating platform combined with the fight choreography to make this production feel like an on-stage version of an action comedy.

Here’s what's missing

There’s a level of depth that I longed for while watching this production. And to be clear, the play works as is, but I believe the true beauty of theater is in the art form's ability to take strong stands on social issues. This play was not written recently, but the themes we see on stage are contemporary — the poor people are hungry, unsheltered, and overly taxed by the powerful elite. There was room to dig a little deeper, and to bring these issues home.

As I sat in the theater, about 20 minutes away from Seattle, where housing and homelessness are constantly on the tips of all the political tongues, there were times in the play when it was hard to lean into the funny and forget how real these issues are. When Robin Hood learns that Much the Miller is about to have his hands cut off for stealing food to feed his starving family after taxes became too high for him to afford to both pay those taxes and buy food — I wanted to stay in that moment longer. I wanted more from our hero. Instead, Robin Hood played the well-known child’s joke of pointing a finger to Sir Guy’s (the noble in charge) chest, and when the noble looked down, Robin flicked his nose. In fact, Robin cleverly got Sir Guy again immediately, and the audience rumbled with laughter both times. The joke absolutely landed with what seemed like the entire audience outside of myself, but at that time I didn’t want the funny. I wanted space to allow the absurdity of the situation to sit with all of us. The taxes were unjustly raised to the point where a working citizen couldn’t afford to both pay taxes and feed his family. So, he paid taxes and stole food and was now about to have both of his hands cut off.

The production was rife with these moments where opportunities to go beyond surface-level societal critiques were presented, only to have the story swiftly pushed forward by a witty one-liner. And even though the quips landed at an impressive rate, I still left the theater wishing the journey was just a little deeper. When the king finally returns to make everything right again, and Robin Hood is vindicated and no longer viewed as an outlaw, he gives an eloquent few lines on his new-found understanding of how we all live for one another. Robin Hood says that’s the bargain we all make for each other. This final moment of recollection was poignant and captured the sentiment that the protagonist learned. But it would have landed even more firmly if there had been times throughout the production when the action slowed and allowed for Robin Hood to mentally grapple with the plight of the people he was fighting to protect.

Who this is for

This is for theater lovers who want a break from all the heavy stuff! I remember when I saw “Jeeves Takes a Bow” at Taproot Theatre back in June. I had seen a few too many heavy handed plays leading up to that and was in need of a breath of fresh air. This production is definitely a breather and a chance to have a good time enjoying live theater. The reason this hit me in a different way than Jeeves did is due to the subject matter being so close to home, but the production itself is really good and worth seeing for anyone who needs a laugh and who loves action.

My Recommendation

Robin Hood is worth the trip to Issaquah. This is a good end-of-summer production to ease into the dreariness of fall with a good laugh. For folks like myself, who see a ton of plays, and are into deep artistic expression (and the sad stuff), this production may not completely scratch that itch. But it is a thrill ride, with swords, and arrows, and shenanigans and it happens to be located next to more than a few places to get a good bite to eat after the show.

Ken Ludwig's "Sherwood: The Adventure's of Robin Hood," is playing at the Village Theatre in Issaquah until Oct. 15, and will show at the Village Theatre in Everett from Oct. 21 until Nov. 12.