Liv Andrusier (Bertrande) and Shane O’Riordan (Martin) [Helen Maybanks]

ALAIN Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s 1996 musical Martin Guerre, redeveloped as a shorter version, packs an emotional punch.

Matthew Warchus’s production uses Schönberg’s score, lyrics by Boublil and Stephen Clark, and new contributions from Annabel Mutale Reed and Paul Hodge.

Set in 16th-century France and based on a true story, the musical follows Martin Guerre, a young peasant from Artigat (south of Toulouse), who marries Bertrande (Liv Andrusier) in exchange for land. Unable to settle, he abandons his wife and village and joins the French Wars of Religion.

Seven years later, a man arrives in the village claiming to be Martin. He knows intimate details of Martin’s life and convinces almost everyone, including Bertrande, that he is her long-lost husband.

He moves in with Bertrande, manages their land and has a child with her. But malcontent Guillaume (a compelling Barney Wilkinson), who has long harboured a passion for Bertrande, begins to sow distrust among the villagers, whipping them into a mob baying for blood, and the returning husband is put on trial for his life.

Running for just 90 minutes, the show is surprisingly layered, giving Bertrande’s perspective real weight.

The staging is simple but effective, with Rob Howell’s rustic benches and tables, wooden staffs that become weapons, and an ensemble who daub their faces with white paint to form an ominous communal force. Playing in the round immerses us in the action, and the tension is often palpable.

Accompanied by a six-piece live band, led by musical director Matthew Jackson, Tom Curran’s orchestration has a folkish lilt. The singing is superb, with Andrusier a standout.

Catch it while you can.

Until October 31
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