Edinburgh Fringe 2023
Mythos: Ragnarok
Mythological Theatre
Genre: Physical Theatre, Storytelling
Venue: Assembly Roxy
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Join Odin and Loki in their struggle to overcome primeval giants, rival gods and goddesses, and each other’s ambitions in this hard-hitting, dark comic adaption of Norse mythology. Weaving ancient myths, legends and folk tales into original pieces of theatre, Mythos utilises a cast of actors who specialise in professional wrestling to create some of the most intense and thrilling fight scenes ever seen in theatre.
Review
Dark and sombre lighting and sound fills the space and a shrouded figure slowly walks out, he is in shadows and we can’t see his face. Coloured lights under the stage and fog transport us to another place and time. This person is wearing a hood and a shredded sack cloth cape, and he starts to address us, setting the scene for the Norse myths and legends story about to unfold.
This figure is Odin, and this is his story, he emphasises. His father, Borr disagrees with him and proclaims “revenge will come”. They challenge each other to a fight, which starts immediately. His father takes off a well-worn belt with a large crest on it and the fight begins. Dad yields to Odin who then claims his father’s belt. More of Odin’s family arrive and Loki, his half brother shows his conniving side and asks for payment for helping him.
Both brothers are different personalities and have contrasting lives and ambitions – other than power and wealth. The actors in this scene play off each other well with humour and sarcasm supported by. The text of this dialogue is clear and sets up how Odin and Loci might share an inheritance.
Suddenly Gullveig arrives dramatically and with a small entourage – and the sparks fly verbally. Her anger matches Odin’s anger because she is his half sister – and therefore, owed a share of the inheritance. She is effective and strong both verbally and how she moves around the stage wearing all black including a flowing cape. She has a powerful presence and is willing to use it. They decide to settle their disagreement and, another fight takes place.
It’s at this point the theatre goer realises that the fight choreography and level of execution in this production goes much further than the pratfalls we learned in drama school. These actors are also wrestlers and weave both of these skills into their performance! The lifts, throws and body slams do look real because of the wrestler’s techniques and the highly skilled actor/wrestlers. However, even though it all looks real and dangerous no one actually gets hurt.
Performing in this show takes stamina and a toll on the body after performing nightly shows for most of the almost month long run, so these performers really put themselves on the line for their sport, art and passion for merging them together in an innovative and exciting performance.
The cast of nine play all the characters with costume changes for each one very effectively. After a narrative set up from Odin in the first scenes there is less need for explorative dialogue later in the story, which gives way, naturally, to full on action!
The fight scenes continue but in different combinations of characters and always with a goal of making a deal or challenging each other for a specific moral reason. There are lots of tears, remorse and monster-like sound effects! Odin’s dysfunctional family finds enough disagreements to keep the fight scenes going strong. They build from the earlier scenes of two people, Odin and Loki, to all out ensemble scenes with the vibrant and strong Gullveig and everyone else, including probably the tallest performer in Edinburgh or Scotland at this moment! Thrilling fight scenes – Exciting and entertaining – with powerful characters and performances!!!
