A very English legend, that of King Arthur's rise and fall, is this week being brought to life by the Scottish Touring Consortium, who convincingly prove that you don't need sophistication and expensive props to engage the imagination of children: the contents of a kitchen cupboard and a good yarn will do.

The production opens with Andy, the story-teller in chief and straight man, phoning his friend Iain, the comic half of the duo, to ask him if he will help him tell the story of Arthur at the Playhouse. This is a request which entails Iain being instructed to bring sixteen boxes of cornflakes with him. The boxes have cut out figures of the knights of the round table on the back, they are packets from when Andy and Iain were wee lads and emphasise how this tale of bravery and foolishness has lasting appeal, and you don't have to be English to enjoy it.

In this version of the tale we start with Uther Pendragon, the Warrior King, killing the King of the Southwest and taking his enemy's wife as his. The son born barely nine months after they marry is Arthur. The birth of an heir to Uther's throne throws Morgana, teenage daughter of the King of the Southwest, into a fury and she leaves to slowly plot her revenge. Reference to Morgana, is always followed by Iain's sinister refrain telling us victory comes to those that wait.

Arthur is entrusted to Merlin by Uther until the day of reckoning when all the young kings with a claim on the throne of England come together to try to withdrew the sword Excalibur from the stone. As we all know Arthur is the one who succeeds.

The one hour forty five minutes of the performance is too short to tell us about any of Arthur's successes. He is no sooner King than we learn that Merlin has foreseen his downfall and we follow the story of what happens to those who don't listen to those who are older and wiser. Mordred, Morgana's son, initially insinuates himself into Arthur's affections, while Morgana herself weaves her evil into Lancelot's and Guinevere's dreams making them believe they have betrayed the King. When Lancelot is out of the way, Mordred challenges Arthur for the throne. The climax this brings to the story is gripping, as the characters of Arthur, Lancelot and Mordred - symbolised by masks (made no doubt from Cornflakes boxes) on candlesticks - are moved around the round table like pieces in the endgame of chess.

The mixture of the comic - including audience participation with sound effects - and the dramatic make this excellent entertainment for children and adults alike. The basic props of Cornflakes boxes, tea-lites, candle sticks and pieces of material add to this imaginative production and allow you to enjoy the story-tellers' art.

Andy and Iain are ably assisted by the sound-effects-man-come-pianist, and live group of female musicians, who add atmosphere, and in the case of the latter also sophistication to the proceedings. As the storytellers point out repeatedly, this isn't the only tale of King Arthur, the variations are countless. However, it is a good wee story.

Jackie Walkden, 3.3.4