Latest news with #knights
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Knight, Knight review – spangly chivalry with psychosexual horseplay
Academic texts have been written about the bond between knights and their steeds in chivalric romances. US clown Madeleine Rowe's contribution to the field is an hour of whimsical horseplay with psychosexual trappings. Here, it's the beast that mounts the knight – and rather vigorously, too. Our host is clad in tunic and spangly chainmail jumpsuit. The hobby horse named Hermes is one of a number of toyshop props including a plastic Excalibur and crown used in daffy episodes of audience participation. Rowe's script has a 'methinks' here and a 'prithee' there, the knight's prophecy and quest unfolding to sweeping Celtic orchestrations across We're Going on a Bear Hunt-style terrain. You'd be right to assume that sword innuendo is embraced when possible but Rowe also has fun with gender norms and social structures seen through an Arthurian lens. This knight is consumed by confusion ('Kings can't do what we've done!' he tells Hermes) as he seeks a meekly obedient wife among us and plucks up wedding eve courage to overcome his bilious reaction to consummate the marriage by doing it, gulp, 'how humans do it'. Physical comedy enhances these interactions – the removal of just belt and tunic becomes a drawn out striptease – and Rowe's vocal work is particularly deft. There's the gruffness of Adam Riches channelling Sean Bean as a swaggering adventurer (a character Riches is reprising this fringe to read Le Morte d'Arthur). To the mix, Rowe adds mock solemnity as well as a lovely lilt. Single vowels are elongated out of shape, going from gravelly to awestruck to sweetly sentimental. Rowe's twinkle-eyed charisma can't quite conceal the fact that each episode is stretched for too long, the pace occasionally needs to giddy up and it's a one-note joke, albeit an inspired one. But if this is not the holy grail of fringe comedy, Rowe still gives us a knight to remember. At Underbelly, George Square, Edinburgh, until 24 August All our Edinburgh festival reviews
RNZ News
04-07-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Kiwi knights do medieval battle in niche sport of buhurt
Some have rugby or football as their sports of choice, but an Auckland group spend their free time donning full suits of medieval armour, and battling it out with swords and shields. While extreme sports like the 'Run It Straight' events have caught headlines recently, Buhurt is a combat sport with a keen eye on safety - although it's not without risk. Training at a warehouse on Auckland's North Shore, these noble knights say it's all about the community. Knights of Dreadnoughts Medieval Combat prepare to do buhurt battle. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi Dreadnoughts Medieval Combat is one of two buhurt groups in Auckland, meeting to train in Beach Haven, and fighting it out at events across the country and internationally. Club captain Colm O'Brien was off to the United States to compete later this year and explained all the pieces that go into a fighter's armour. "Down here is the sabatons, that's what covers the feet and protects any accidental foot shots," he said. "We've got a vambrace here, which covers my forearm, we've got another elbow cup, we've got the upper arm here and we've also got the helmet." The name 'buhurt' came from an old French word, meaning to wallop or batter, and even with all the armour, the sport has risks. "We don't really see as many injuries as something like rugby even," O'Brien said. "We do have roughly 35-40kg armour on ourselves, so it's not too bad, but knee injuries are really bad and sore shoulder injuries are very common." Club captain Colm O'Brien will take his buhurt skills to the United States this year. Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi This reporter put the armour to the test, donning a helmet and getting hit in the head with a falchion sword. While it wasn't painful, the jolt of the blade connecting to the helmet was shocking and caused a slight ringing in the ears. O'Brien said much of the equipment came from offshore. "A lot of the equipment, it's difficult to get in New Zealand," he said. "A lot of this stuff comes from Ukraine and Poland and a lot of Eastern European countries. "There's a big following of the sport there, and they, funnily enough, have fantastic armour smiths and metal protection there," Vice-captain Ethan Wilson said the buhurt community in New Zealand was still growing. "It's still a niche sport," he said. "There'd be around 50-60 active fighters in the country, which isn't horrible, but it could always be better." Wilson said getting into the sport was easy: "Find your local club, go along for a training." One fighter, Devon Hansen, said she had done buhurt for about a year-and-a-half, after seeing it on Tik-Tok, and her favourite part was the people. "Glad to punch these people up, but hug them afterwards." Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi "You start for the sport, you stay for the people," she said. Even after taking a wallop in the arena, known in the sport as a 'list', O'Brien agreed, it was all about the people. "I'm not injured, bit tired alright," he said, exiting the list. "It's very draining, but happy I've done it. "Glad to punch these people up, but hug them afterwards." He had advice to offer those wanting to get involved. "Don't be scared of it, it's just another sport. "We'll start you off easy. You won't be going straight into the armour, but you'll have a lot of fun in the meantime and also make a lot of friends on the way." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
CBC
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
See what it's like to be a knight thanks to this Montreal exhibit
An exhibit at the Pointe-à-Callière Museum in Old Montreal aims to let people see and feel what it was like to be a knight during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The exhibit features a collection of about 250 objects loaned from the Stibbert Museum in Italy.
