About the Play:

Robin Hood is a full-length comedy by Don Nigro. Get ready for a new twist on Robin Hood. In this version, Robin Hood not only champions the poor, but is an environmentalist determined to save Sherwood Forest. Supported by a cast of vivid and wacky characters, this mixture of farce, physical comedy and bawdy humour is sure to tickle your audience's funny bone.

Robin Hood is an hilarious take on the classic story that takes the audience to Sherwood Forest. Prince John is determined to replace the trees in Sherwood Forest with a slaughterhouse, tennis court and arms factory to benefit the wealthy. As in the familiar version of the tale, the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. That's where the similarities get fuzzy as this bawdy epic unites elements of wild farce, ancient mythologies, with environmentalist flavour in a crazy mixture that pokes fun at the exaggerated importance of material prosperity in the face of hunger and poverty. Our hero Robin Hood feels that peace is the only way to accomplish anything and avoids violence at any cost. Maid Marian is a spoiled, ignorant rich girl who loses her fine gowns and her illusions among the poor while Robin tries to avoid murder and elude the Dark Monk of the Wood who is Death and perhaps something more. Robin and Marion also start to fall in love, but can they inspire change? Will the noblemen change their ways? Throw in feeble and insane Jesters, a demonic snake oil salesman, a corrupt and lascivious court, a singer of eerie ballads, and a gluttonous lusty Friar Tuck to round out the bizarre cast of characters that will make your audience laugh and make them think.

Robin Hood premiered in 1984 at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise, Idaho. The play has been performed in regional repertory, high school, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 8 female (more if desired), 14 male

Don Nigro is a prolific American playwright with over 400 works touching on a wide variety of themes including murder mysteries (the Inspector Ruffing series), American history (the Pendragon County plays), Russian life and culture, art and artists, and more. His work has been produced around the world and translated into ten languages. He has twice been a finalist for the National Repertory Theatre Foundation's National Play Award, and has won a Playwriting Fellowship Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as grants from the Ohio Arts Council.