The Bunker Trilogy: Morgana

As explosions rock their bunker in France, three First World War soldiers wait to go to the front. Tensions flare as Artie and Lance both dream of Gwen, the girl they left behind in Cornwall; and the mysterious Morgana Le Fay weaves her spell over Gawain.

Written by Jamie Wilkes and directed by Jethro Compton, this is one of a cycle of self-contained plays inspired by legends, with the same cast in different roles. Borrowing from the story of King Arthur, Morgana is a funny and haunting tale of friendship, love and loss.

The play is full of references for the keen-eyed, from Gawain’s friends teasing him about green knights, to a headmaster nicknamed Merlin, to the setting itself: much of Thomas Malory’s famous Le Morte d’Arthur is rooted in medieval French romance.

Wilkes skilfully uses Arthurian legend as a resonating frame for the devastating loss of innocence and hope symbolised by the Great War. Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain are the only survivors of 13 school friends who called themselves the Knights of the Round Table and joined the army together.

There’s no place for Camelot in Compton's stiflingly well-realised bunker – James Marlowe’s loveable, virginal Gawain is the last bright light. Dan Wood’s anguished Arthur and Sam Donnelly’s gruff, brooding Lancelot share powerful scenes as they wrestle with this new world.

Meanwhile, Serena Manteghi moves ethereally between the three men as Gwen, a French prostitute and as the enigmatic Morgana, singing siren-like of the past and beckoning darkly to the future.