“A subtle and sophisticated piece of storytelling with the heart of Sleipnir and a pace to match.”
Editorial Rating: 5 Stars (Outstanding)
Norse mythology is BIG. It’s elemental. It’s soulful, poetic and, above all, exciting. Ed Gamester’s vision is EXACTLY what a little boy would dream of as he avidly read ‘D’aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths’ snug at Gran and Poppy’s house back in the day – and what an aulder chap would try to convey reading the same volume to his own darling wee progeny a year or two dozen later.
Gamester is an EdFringe legend in his own lifetime. He has raised this show from scratch with considerably more time and effort than the All Father needed to raise that wheat which saved the farmer’s son in a Faroese ballad from long ago. From the teeny-tiny Roxy venue to the Asgardian splendour of the Music Hall at Assembly Rooms, our Ed has made magic happen year after year. His show is a crowd-pleaser – and what a crowd – but it is also a subtle and sophisticated piece of storytelling with the heart of Sleipnir and a pace to match.
As Odin, Howard Drake dominates the action with a cosmic gravitas. The premier ring-builder in the UK, Drake literally sets the stage for the drama that unfolds, the perfect foil for Gamester’s fiercesomely soulful and (just) occasionally irreverent Loki. Together, these two titans slam into the narrative like a hot knife slams into butter. The result is a smorgasbord of characterful vignettes and choreographed pandemonium that spills out into the audience with the sudden slugfest urgency of Jörmungandr jumping in and out of a wood-fired hot tub.
As Gullveig, Louise Young (of Iron Girders fame) brings an unquiet, unforgettable, unmissable dignity to proceedings. Together with the splendid performance, presence, and physicality of Rhonda Pownall (as Friday’s namesake), Young delivers a counterweight to the overwheening ambition of the menfolk. It’s a stratospheric performance that could dwarf an ice giant.
Countermatching Young’s steely (only just) restraint is Miles Ley’s babyface Thor. The Bristol Old Vic alum is utterly sensational; it is simply outrageous that anyone should get paid for having so much fun on stage. And here is what makes Gamester’s vision so successful, this exacting balance of comedy and tragedy, majesty and mayhem forged deep into the metal of a riveting piece of stage traffic by a producer demonstrating skills equivalent to Völundr skillfully smithing a sgian dubh to be worn in Beowulf’s sock. The scale is actually small on an MGM TV scale, but it’s off the charts in terms of dramatic thrust and impact.
The not-so-secret MEGASTARS of this production are Melanie Watson’s costumes, which make everything and everyone on stage seem incredibly real. From Loki’s trousers to Fin McCarthy’s Fenrir, Watson’s creations are bold and inspired, a reenactor’s wet dream. Complimented by Gamester’s BIG recent spend on lighting. This is LIVE theatre on a Cecil B. DeMille scale, and it works. It really, Really, REALLY works.
Come for the Sam Gardiner-sized bouts of pure dead brilliance. Stay for Beau Charles’ pecs. Get your valshamrs on and go see this!
Get Your Coats On 
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