The Three Musketeers and the Princess of Spain, Traverse, Edinburgh

Dumas's classic tale is given a bawdy, hugely entertaining revamp

by Graeme ThomsonSunday, 05 December 2010

Porthos, Athos and Aramis: Three Beckettian misfits as bickering, bedraggled heroesAll photos: Robert Day

So this is Christmas, a time to seek comfort in traditional nourishment both culinary and cultural. In Edinburgh, the King’s Theatre has been home to mainstream panto - the equivalent of serving up a hearty turkey with all the trimmings – since time immemorial, which leaves the capital’s other theatres jockeying for position. What to do? Hedge all bets and aim for different-but-not-too-different, or raise the stakes and try something more adventurous altogether?

Athos is an embittered alcoholic who gives off the surly aura of a dethroned rock star

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