‘Wallet, cellphone, keys, sword,” Telemachus recites to himself as he checks his pockets. Backpack on, teddy tucked in and he’s able to go, setting off on a grand quest to seek out his dad. What he doesn’t reckon on is discovering himself alongside the way in which.
At its highest factors – of which there are lots of – Nina Segal’s new manufacturing of The Odyssey is electrical. Made for households, Jennifer Tang’s path delights in Naomi Hammerton’s fast-paced songs, whirling dances and moments of extremely absurd dramatic photos. It’s when the music slows and the tempo falters that the strain drops away. However this forged method all the pieces with full hearts and vivid smiles, so that each lag is quickly adopted by a brand new burst of power and journey.
By reframing the Greek epic to comply with Telemachus (a superbly hopeful, cheeky Shaka Kalokoh) as he traces his father’s footsteps throughout treacherous oceans and thru lethal caves, Segal’s adaptation takes a cynical eye to Odysseus’s journey, revealing how adults may be fallible, and the way generally a hero beneficial properties the title by imparting harm. Even a witch and a cyclops may be lonely, Telemachus learns. Even mother and father make errors. Every encounter is written with crisp readability, the ethical nuzzled beneath the songs and laughter.
Cerys Burton and Kimmy Edwards are splendidly nimble as the 2 muses whom Penelope sends alongside along with her son, their silver clothes, which glitter like disco balls, quickly layered below Rosie Elnile’s playful designs of fluff and fur as they rework into sheep, beasts and sirens. Penelope could also be left at residence however Money Holland, who performs Telemachus’s mum with tenderness, is frantically busy showing in ever extra comedian roles, shapeshifting to grow to be now a swaggering cyclops, now an aged Tiresias. All 4 work arduous and quick, and appear to genuinely have enjoyable doing it.
Tonight the sound ranges are barely off, making it arduous to listen to some lyrics. However all of the small moments of distraction may be smoothed all through the run, and the overriding ambiance is considered one of pleasure and exploration. It is a superbly designed, neatly instructed story of a kid studying tips on how to make his personal means on the planet, and a father or mother lovingly letting her son determine it out for himself. With a bag she packed for him, in fact.
