Chaucer’s classic hits the Costa Blanca

NEXT Sunday, February 12, Altea will be host to the Canterbury Tales, a children’s musical in English, performed by a British cast.

The Canterbury Tales are thought to be the first novel written in English, and now the British companies Parlon Film and Cup of Theatre, with Spanish director Rebeca Cobos, bring the classic tales of Chaucer to life through song, dance and audience participation.

This is the fourth tour of this British spectacular, and it is travelling across Spain, stopping on February 12 at the Palau Altea (Alicante) at 6pm. The play has been deliberately developed to appeal to children of all ages (including a few jokes just for the adults!) and includes puppets, singing and live music played by the cast themselves (Piano, Cello, Clarinet, Accordian, Mandolin, Guitar, Saxophone, and more).

The Canterbury Tales is a lot of fun, but also has some educational value, including a fable where animals teach us the dangers of arrogance, and a comedy about a misbehaving Knight who is sent on a quest to learn about respect.

The director, Rebeca Cobos, has produced this play in collaboration with Rick Limentani, who first came to Spain with his play Freedom in 2013 after its success in London’s Arcola theatre. Both later launched their play Dear Darwin at the Canal Theatre in Madrid, a mixed-media play for teens about the dangers of bullying.

Parlon Film Company is a British production company created in 2006 and together with the Spanish Cup of Theatre has created plays in Spain such as Canterbury Tales, Dear Darwin and Royal Flush, all with the dual objective of educating young people around values of social importance, and giving them experience of dramatic arts and creative storytelling, all in the English language.