Preview: The Canterbury Tales, Southwark Playhouse, London

Chaucer takes to the streets

Southwark Playhouse's adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's tale of a motley band of pilgrims who compete to tell the best yarn while on the way to Canterbury, will be performed along the Southwark streets real-life pilgrims once walked, taking in such locations as Borough Market and the Gardens of St George the Martyr.

Southwark Playhouse's adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer's tale of a motley band of pilgrims who compete to tell the best yarn while on the way to Canterbury, will be performed along the Southwark streets real-life pilgrims once walked, taking in such locations as Borough Market and the Gardens of St George the Martyr.

The performance begins with the "General Prologue" enacted at the George Inn, off Borough High Street. "This pub is pretty much on the same spot as the Tabard Inn, where the original pilgrims set off to Canterbury," says Gareth Machin, the Playhouse's artistic director, who directs and co-wrote the piece.

Twenty "community actors" will join the cast of seven who play the main pilgrims. Machin has narrowed the pilgrims down to a manageable number and the tales down to five (Chaucer wrote 24).

"It is about trying to keep it within a sensible amount of time for a performance," Machin says of the three-hour production. Among the episodes jettisoned is "The Prioress's Tale", about the murder of a child by Jews. "It has a very strong anti-Semitic strand through it, which would be difficult to produce in an acceptable way," says Machin. "The Canon's Yeoman Tale", about a man who makes people think they can make gold, was dropped for practical reasons.

The featured tales include "The Knight's Tale", about two love rivals who compete for the object of their affections. Machin describes "The Miller's Tale" as "a bit of a sex farce really", while "The Nun's Priest's Tale" is set in a farmyard. "It's the tale of a cockerel, Chanticleer, who is seduced by a cunning fox," says Machin. "It's more like a pantomime." "The Pardoner's Tale" concerns "three young lads who go in search of death".

The performance culminates with "The Wife of Bath's Tale", performed in the Millennium Courtyard at Southwark Cathedral.

28 June to 10 July (0870 060 0100; www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk)