The hero of the Anglo-Saxon poem, Beowulf, is brought to life in an entertaining jaunt involving monsters, dragons, and epic tales of derring-do.
The first half sees us in Denmark, where king Hrothgar and his people are being plagued by Grendel, a monstrous, demon-like creature. Hearing of their plight, Beowulf, the hero of the Geats (a Swedish tribe) decides to offer his assistance. After slaying Grendel with his bare hands, Beowulf dispatches its mother too in an underwater battle.
The second half takes place 50 years later, when Beowulf is now an aged king. After a dragon is disturbed and goes on a destructive rampage, Beowulf, despite his advancing years, decides to embark on a quest to rid his people of the creature. After a back and forth battle, Beowulf slays the dragon, but is mortally wounded himself.
Quite the story then. And all of this is portrayed by just three actors, who multi-role their way through this fantastical adventure which makes use of puppetry, fire-breathing, and in their opening performance, the lovely setting of the ruins at Whitlingham Country Park.
Having just three of them to tell the tale, it is a production that relies on a certain swiftness as they change scenes and characters fairly often, and on its opening performance, it wasn't quite as sharp as it should have been in order to keep the adventure flowing smoothly.
Alisha Hart and Maisie Fulcher shone throughout, bringing verve and enthusiasm to every role they played, with Alisha able to show off her range of skills operating the Grendel and dragon puppets, and breathing fire too. John Giller seemed to struggle to keep pace with his fellow castmates, but was very likeable in his portrayals.
Ostensibly, this is a tale that simply involves the slaying of three creatures, and as an adventure story, it is lacking in a bit of depth. However, while it doesn't offer the same swashbuckling energy of their previous productions, this is still an accomplished and entertaining piece of storytelling and there's plenty in here to keep youngsters enthralled.
Beowulf continues on its summer tour throughout August at some great venues including the West Stow Saxon Village in Bury St Edmunds (7th) , the Plantation Gardens in Norwich (10th) and Dereham Windmill (18th). For full details of dates, venues, and how to get tickets, visit quillandinkling.com
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