Over the course of four evenings, in January, March, September and December, the play portrays the gradual decline of the knights, showing their repressed desires, fears and misgivings.
Brito is also rampantly heterosexual and, despite a mutual attraction between himself and Traci, he chases Catherine and ultimately martyrs himself for her when she succumbs to a fatal disease circulating the village of Knaresborough.
[5] While the knights wait out their time in the castle, Catherine keeps the villagers at bay by assuring them that her tenants are seeking penance through a constant cycle of fasting and prayer.
In reviewing the premiere, The Times said that the play was confused and did not know whether it was a tragedy of character, a straight historical dramatisation, a light comedy, a political-philosophical statement, or a satirical study of sexual longing.
[13] The play's use of modern language and idiom has also received mixed reviews, drawing comparisons with Blackadder,[14] A Knight's Tale and Reservoir Dogs.
[15] The Guardian review of the premiere felt that it was a good, if overused comic device,[1] while the Times thought the language, while adding realism, made the play feel lightweight.