DETAILS

Robin Hood by ATP
Martha Cohen Theatre
Wednesday, November 26 - Sunday, December 28

More in: Theatre

The light dims. A thick rope uncoils and falls with a thud, and as a startled gasp escapes from the audience, the prince of thieves slides effortlessly to the stage.

Robin Hood, cloaked in a bright green tunic with a long, slender pheasant feather tucked into his cap, is every bit the storybook crusader I remember. With youthful vitality and a quick tongue he makes a mockery of the goofy Guy of Gisborne (Trevor Leigh), chief forester under the Sheriff of Nottingham (Haysam Kadri). As Robin Hood teases the thick-accented Gisborne, I hear children’s laughter ringing like a bell.

Actor Ryan Luhning plays the leader of Sherwood Forest’s merry men, and is a longtime member of Alberta Theatre Projects and artistic director of Ground Zero Theatre. “Who wouldn’t want to play Robin Hood. That’s a boyhood dream right there. There’s sword fighting, arrow shooting,” he says when asked what drew him to the role.

Luhning has been fine-tuning the character for about a month, and says the ATP production of Jeffrey Pitcher’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood offers a unique version of the boyhood hero. He’s a vigilante, says Luhning, comparing Robin Hood to Gotham City’s brooding guardian, Batman. “He will play a hero or a villain, whatever Nottingham needs him to be. Whatever he needs to be to defend his mandate and the rights of the poor.” A vigilante he is, but he’s also become arrogant and lost sight of his vision. Now he’s dangerously close to becoming a tyrant.

The story of Robin Hood originated as early as the 14th century, and there is evidence to suggest the character is based on a real man. His identity, though, is heavily disputed. The earliest surviving literature mentioning Robin Hood is a musical play by Adam de la Halle, called “Le Jeu de Robin est de Marion,” written in the 14th century. Since then, we’ve seen more contemporary versions in Errol Flynn’s heroic portrayal in 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, and the fearless romantic played by Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).

It’s a lot to live up to, but Luhning seems comfortable sneaking around in Robin’s leather shoes. “I think Kevin (McKendrick) cast me because I have some of the same qualities as this version of Robin Hood, and I say that with a kind of wink and a smile,” he says. “He is a pretty confident guy, and he’s pretty aggressive and likes things done his way.”

Luhning, who has two young girls, was influenced by the animated Disney version of Robin Hood, because he could watch it with his daughters. More than anything though, he’s tried to make the character true to both his and Pitcher’s vision. That’s extremely important for any actor, explains actress Rebecca Northan, who plays Maid Marian, Robin Hood’s love interest. “Ultimately, your job as an actor is to find things that seem truthful, grounded and rooted in reality, so that audience members don’t feel like they are being put on. They can suspend their disbelief and feel like they are actually watching Maid Marion and Robin Hood.” She and Luhning are close friends and went to theatre school together at the University of Calgary. Onstage, the pair burst with energy, bringing the love affair between Robin and Marion to life.

“There’s so many layers to both these characters and such a great sense of energy and vivacity to both of them. They are such a treat onstage,” says stage manager Amy Lynn Stilchuk. “Once you add the lights and sounds and set in, it just adds that extra layer they can feed off, and it really comes alive.” Luhning, she adds, “has really captured the kind of arrogance that Robin Hood has, but has made him lovable in the same sense. So even though Robin Hood can be kind of cocky, he’s also very endearing. You really root for Robin Hood.”