Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Low Down
Evan Quinlan brings a one man play to CC Blooms for Free Fringe. He performs a theatrical rendition of the medieval northern European poem “Grendel and Beowulf” in medieval dress and with a branch in one hand. A hearty version full of passion and some humour too.
Review
This rendition of “Beowulf and Grendel” at free Fringe captivates audience goers as one man in a shabby medieval ragged shirt, beaten up plimsolls and a large stick in one hand transports the audience in to the ghoulish mythical scenes of medieval Scandinavia. Evan Quinlan impressively recites a segment of the northern European poem in complete old English and draws the audience in to the scenes of the dark ages with this story of mead halls, choppy sees, noble warriors and cave dwelling monsters. Portraying it all very imaginatively in fact with dynamic acting skills.
Quinlan brings this story to life as he sparks the imagination of the viewers with his acting. Throughout whether he is playing the narrator – telling the story with an alluring spark in his eyes, bringing the audience in with his gestures/wit or playing the hero character – thrashing against the imaginary monster on stage, using the stick to play the old mead-hall king king sat stoutly leaning on it, this actor never fails to get the story across with a touch of humour and lots of passion. This wasn’t a mere recital of the poem. It wouldn’t have been worth seeing if so. He brings the poem to life with sheer dramatic skill and magnetism.
i personally feel that this play was a very interesting watch. I was wondering how he was going to convey aspects of this old tale. For example I liked his simplistic presentation – the medieval shabby shirt and trousers brought you with him in to the times of old immediately as he looked like someone who could have drank in the meadhall mentioned in the tale. This makes the play accessible for those who are unsure of what Beowulf is about and brings them in to the timescale. I also found that despite the fact this was recited in old English an audience goer would still be able to follow the story as he conveyed it with such expressiveness – i.e. waves the stick to represent a boat on choppy sees, uses the stick as a sword to fight the monster Grendel, played the monster Grendel with hunched mannerisms and played each character with different tones of voice and posture. He also broke the fourth wall a few times when audience members came in late saying “welcome come in” and swiftly resumed which I felt made the audience enjoy his performance more as they felt included. He finished the play at an apt time: when the hero Beowulf tears off Grendel’s arm. Very dramatic but leaves the audience wanting more and not too long a length. I would’ve liked if there was perhaps some backing sound effects he could’ve played (choppy sees, mead-hall sounds, monsters howling etc) but perhaps I’m wrong. The simplicity did make it feel like it was of times before special effects and it felt like we were round a campfire listening to this yarn of times long gone.
In one way this show is can be seen as niche but the actor Evan Quinlan makes it accessible to all with his charismatic delivery/imaginative presentation. I found this to be a very entertaining rendition. The expressive acting made it very easy to follow despite the fact it was in old English. Overall I would highly recommend this show and urge anyone interested in some fun classic story telling to check it out!
