A Knight's Tale musical to feature 'contemporary' updates to original film

Director Rachel Kavanaugh has said comedy-musical A Knight’s Tale will be "quite contemporary", with a 21st-century take on gender and sexuality.

Opening at Manchester Opera House on April 11, before a slated West End run, A Knight’s Tale is adapted for the stage by Brona C Titley.

It features choreography by Matt Cole, with the jukebox production including hits such as Reach by S Club 7.

Kavanaugh, who has directed productions including Great British Bake Off the Musical and the UK tour of Oklahoma!, told The Stage: "We certainly are hoping to be quite contemporary about the way we look at gender in the show.

"Brona has written that into the script. A person in the movie who is a man is a non-binary character in our show, and there are certain relationships that are new to our show."

Kavanaugh also welcomed the chance to showcase the premiere of the production to Manchester audiences and said: "I’ve opened a few shows in Manchester and they are a great audience. I think they’re lucky in Manchester because they get a lot of new shows."

She added: "Producers use it as a place to go to. I think Manchester audiences are supportive of that and like being the first to receive something – particularly big new musicals."