Geoffrey Chaucer 
The Canterbury Tales (NHB Modern Plays) 

A landmark dramatisation for the Royal Shakespeare Company of one of the foundation stones of English literature. This two-play adaptation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales encompasses all 23 stories. All the famous characters are here – as well as many less well-known but equally full of life. Each of the stories has its own style – heroic verse for the Knight’s Tale, vernacular rhymes for the Miller’s Tale etc. – echoing the many narrative voices employed by Chaucer himself. The plays can be performed either together or separately. ’Rumbustious and passionate … this is quite simply a glorious compendium of stories and poetry’ -Daily Mail ’Scintillating … Poulton’s admirable version … what takes one’s breath away is the range of styles and emotions on display’ -Guardian ’Mike Poulton’s superb adaptation is both faithful and accessible, comfortably inhabiting the middle ground between Middle English and the modern vernacular’ -The Times