Arthur reviews from our Young Ambassadors

As part of their responsibilities, our Young Ambassadors are invited to watch and review Polka productions, including this year’s Summer production, Arthur! Read some of the reviews below:

Luke, aged 13

Right now, until August, at Polka you have the ability to immerse yourself in a hilarious, gripping, twisting plot by watching Arthur. From brilliant, relatable jokes to a gripping, understandable plot with lots of extras to make this version of the classic story even better, Arthur is probably one of the best shows at Polka ever.

With just the four actors, they manage to play around a dozen different characters extremely well, each character striking resonance with the audience, and having their own distinct perks and personalities pulled off brilliantly by the actors. The juxtaposition of evil and good helps to create a gripping atmosphere, and you can see that reflected in an engaged audience, laughing, clapping and clearly understanding the plot.

As with many shows, no prior understanding of the story is needed; the story is portrayed perfectly, but in a new light. I would recommend this show to 8-14 year olds – as Polka has – but it was clear that adults were also enjoying the show, and why wouldn’t they? 

Syed Fadi, aged 13

4 Stars

Polka Theatre’s latest summer production, ‘Arthur’ (written by Marietta Kirkbride and directed by Nel Crouch), is a magical new play featuring original songs, creative choreography, and heartfelt dialogue. It explores challenging themes of teamwork, bravery, and purpose when feeling overlooked, seamlessly colliding the modern world of 2026 with the ancient Arthurian world of 526AD. 

The production is perfectly intended for a young audience and families looking for an exciting summer adventure. Placing a modern character alongside a legendary hero creates immediate relatability, while witty dialogue ensures it never feels patronising to teenagers. The cast was spectacular at bringing these characters to life. Gurjot Dhaliwal plays a wonderfully determined Grace, while Giles Carden delivers a kind-hearted, charming performance as young Arthur. Rose Wardlaw is brilliantly eccentric as Merlin, and the comedic chemistry between Adam Mirsky (Lancelot) and Megan Vaughan-Thomas (Gawain) provided plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Furthermore, despite multi-rolling, the performance was not majorly affected; it made the piece even more unique as the audience easily accepted seeing familiar faces in different costumes.

Bella-Rae, aged 11

5 stars

Arthur is a fun adaptation of a well-known English story about an orphan boy who travelled to find what his destiny and true meaning in life was. Unlike the ancient story books this show included lots of new characters such as Merlin (grand high wizard) Grace (modern day human) and Queen Vivian (leader of the forest beings). The additional characters made the performance more enjoyable and modernized for younger viewers.

My favorite part of the show would be when Queen Vivian shone in the spotlight. Her use of the popular shoe brand Heelys to make it seem like she could magically glide along the stage was a creative and fun touch. At times it made the crowd laugh and other times it made you say to yourself “I’m going to buy some Heelys today!” (that was me) The message behind this performance is simple but significant “Always follow your heart for it will lead you in the right direction. Don’t follow other people but follow yourself because sometimes others aren’t right.’

Arthur is definitely one to watch and you could never get bored of it. I would give this performance… 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes English history with a magic plot twist!

Tara, aged 9

5 stars

It was great!

I loved how the way they went to the past so we could see how the past was in this case. I understood how the story was. What I also loved how some things suprised me but in a good way. I liked the ending how they played together and they replayed some of Grace’s adventure.

The beast for me was so cute. The setting was wonderful