one4review | On 13, Aug 2024

Mythos: Ragnarök is to my mind one of the most exciting, interesting and downright fun pieces of theatre I’ve ever seen. The premise is simple enough to put in a tagline – Norse mythology told through professional wrestling.

Now, I am a fan of professional wrestling already, as well as folklore and mythology so I was immediately sold, but I honestly think that if you are a fan of neither you would still find an awful lot to love about this show.

The plot is a retelling of a version of the myth of Ragnarök – the mythical end of times for the Norse gods (and, indeed, everyone else). It starts with the meeting of Odin and Loki at the dawn of time and follows the course of the two as they battle giants, monsters, gods and each other careening towards their prophesied apocalypse. The characters are larger than life, but not cartoonish. And while the tone starts light as the show progresses it becomes darker and more serious, with characters like Thor going from an oaf to a brute and Odin from a king to a tyrant. Towards the end there are scenes that are truly affecting, even if half the characters are shirtless and picking one another up to slam them into the stage. The storytelling is genuinely that good, even if it’s always fairly simple – there’s someone to cheer and someone to boo. The crowd gets involved in an almost pantomime-esque way at points, but that’s part of the joy of this sort of performance – that it pulls you in.

People often criticise professional wrestling because they think that it’s pretending to be a “real” sport. But professional wrestling is – and always has been – physical theatre and it is truly amazing to see it used as a medium to tell a full story.

It’s impossible not to praise this show without praising its writer and creator, Ed Gamester, who drips charisma and skill from every pour. He played Loki during our viewing (though he has since swapped to the role of Odin) and turned in a genuinely fantastic performance displaying the trickster god in all his devious, joyful and even sincere majesty. Gamester has had terrific success with this project and my only hope is that it continues and he creates even more to enjoy in the future. By the speech at the end he was near tears at the standing ovation from a 500 strong audience.

If you are someone or know someone who hasn’t ever seen a live pro-wrestling show and wants to know what the fuss is about, this is the perfect place to start.

*****
Reviewed by Tom
Assembly George Square – Gordon Aikman Theatre
20.55 (1hr 10)
Until 25th August (not 20)