Ragnarok – The Weird of the Gods (Upstairs at Three and Ten, Brighton)

Before commenting on the show and its writer/performer John Hinton, it may be wise to translate the title. Firstly, Ragnarok (“Doom of the Gods”) also called Gotterdammerung, means the end of the world in Norse mythology. Conflicts and feuds are predicted to break out, even between families, and all morality will disappear. Secondly, Weird (or Wyrd) in the same mythological tales means fate or destiny, it was only in around 1815 that it started to mean odd or peculiar.

So, we have all gathered to watch the total destruction of the world which, by all accounts, is the fate of the gods and there is really only one way to start a piece like that… with a song. That song is called Yggdrasil and it tells us that the world is not round but is, in fact, a large tree and we all live on one of the branches. With those explanations and concepts firmly in our minds we are ready to launch into the total mayhem that now follows.

Hinton is, without doubt, a brilliant writer and a superb performer. He engages the audience immediately and holds them throughout his 70 minute one-man show. In this piece he plays more than a dozen characters, mostly Norse Gods, by changing hats, accents and personalities with speed, skill and accuracy. Each character is very individual, and we soon get to grips with who’s who.

At the back of the stage there is a large projector screen on the wall and a large table with the various hats, and other props, laid out neatly, and specifically, to aid the quick change process. Hinton also has a guitar, a microphone and, on the floor, possibly the most important piece of equipment in his show. It is a very clever piece of technology called a loop pedal (also known as looper pedal, looping pedal, loop station etc.) On this machine Hinton is able to layer various sounds, effects and voices to create melodious backgrounds while he then speaks, raps and sings parts of the story over the top.

We learn a huge amount about the various Norse Gods very quickly and, through his brilliant interpretations, a very complicated tale is made surprisingly easy to understand. We are all able to work out who are the “goodies” and the “baddies” and, through some community singing (in Swedish) the entire audience feels a part of the show. This is very helpful as; very soon, we all actually become a part of the show.

Theatre of the Preposterous, the new Brighton-based theatre company behind this production, has never appeared at the Brighton Fringe before but, if they can repeat the quality of this wild, crazy, brilliantly devised and supremely executed piece, I am sure they will be a firm fixture at future festivals.