Skip to main content

Review of Can The Mountains Love The Sea? - A Viking Wedding Saga by Tim Ralphs at Royal & Derngate (Underground), Northampton

I like reviewing the storytelling events (and this is the fourth that I have seen), as I go for the ramble inanely approach (what do you mean that's what I normally do?) rather than the full on critic. So for this one perhaps I might say something silly about sitting for over an hour in the Underground without ending up a pool of water on the floor. I might even say something also about that moment when I took my chair and thought I was about to be interrogated under that most scary spotlight that greeted us.

However I won't on this occasion (but I have) as its time to get serious! Tim Ralphs was our storyteller on the evening and while he wasn't my favourite of the professional tellers I have seen so far (if he was reading this, he will have stopped now), he was darn close. He was also very interesting in the informative Q&A after as well, which was a lovely added bonus for the night.

His story of Can The Mountains Love The Sea? was a Norse influenced tale based on The Marriage of Njord and Skadi and and mainly for an adult audience. Not overly adult though, just a bit of swearing (I have never shouted "bum" with so many people before) and a touch of genitalia tug of war which you either laughed or squirmed through. It was more that the premise of the story was more adult, with a sort of bad marriage situation rather than the happy ever after variety.

It was of course a story I hadn't heard before and was very well told by the bare footed Mr Ralphs. Slightly less physical than a few I have seen, but willing to involve the audience (mainly early on), especially with the honoured guests we had in the front row, who knew Loki was there or that ever so, ever so handsome one.

It was an excellent hour of storytelling and coupled with the lovely Q&A after (which I was glad to see so many came back to. I have seen many fewer for these), an excellent night. I shall look forward to my second viewing of Mr Ralphs at the future Storytelling at the Feast of Fools that he shall be attending. The devil in a supermarket sounds right on my wavelength.

««««


Performance reviewed: Saturday 18th April, 2015 at the Royal & Derngate (Underground), Northampton.

Can The Mountains Love The Sea? was part of a two show day from Tim Ralphs at the Royal & Derngate on Saturday 18th April, 2015.

For further details about Tim Ralphs visit his website at http://www.timralphs.com/

For further details about the Royal & Derngate visit their website at http://www.royalandderngate.co.uk/
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Party Season at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Formed in 2011, the theatre group The Wardrobe Ensemble has created many shows for both adults and children. Over the years, they have established a rich connection with the Royal & Derngate, staging several productions here, including the recent Mog: The Forgetful Cat . With Party Season now opening at the venue, the focus returns to an adult-centred show. Party Season tells its story through three children’s parties over the course of one weekend. The usual social situations occur, awkwardness, one-upmanship, and the true chaos of such events as children descend on a single house. Though the setting is children’s parties, Party Season goes deeper. It explores what it means to be a parent, and in one amusing moment, what it is like not to be one. Party Season is a return to the triumphant balance that The Wardrobe Ensemble has between buffoonery and stark, human emotional storytelling. The simplicity of seeing a switch from the cast doing Gangnam Style to an emotional monologu...
Read more

Review of Mean Girls - The Musical at Milton Keynes Theatre

The iconic 2004 teen movie Mean Girls has, despite 22 years passing, maintained relevance in modern youth culture; its “cautionary tale” still resonates. Therefore, back in 2017, original screenwriter Tina Fey created her musical adaptation of the story, maintaining the original's female empowerment and recognition of individuality while adding a little sprinkling of modernity, such as the arrival of mobile phones. It was such a success in London following a US debut that this UK Tour, now reaching Milton Keynes, was inevitable. Cady Heron, a teenager who has been home-schooled in Kenya, relocates to Chicago and confronts the fiercely competitive world at her new high school. Guided by the outcasts Janis and Damian, she strives for belonging but is soon drawn into the superficial "Plastics," ruled over by Regina George. Cady’s attempts to navigate both social circles spiral into rivalry, manipulation, and payback. While Mean Girls  may miss its target audience for this m...
Read more

Review of Friends - The Musical Parody at Milton Keynes Theatre

The One Where 2026 starts in a world of confusion. And so, 2026 is upon us and for my first trip to the theatre this year, one of my most significant reviewing challenges was to occur. Touring to Milton Keynes Theatre is Friends - The Musical Parody , based, unsurprisingly, on that little American show that ran to a few audience members for ten years. However, I confess that I was not, and have never been in that audience, never having seen a single episode of the show. However, always up for a review challenge and doing my due diligence by having a Friends superfan as my plus one, I headed to Milton Keynes with anticipation. For those unfamiliar with the show, I could say I can’t help; however, a quick review of some of the information you might need (thanks, Google and my plus one). Running for ten years between 1994 and 2004 with 236 episodes (quiz question, you are welcome), the main characters consisted of Phoebe (ditzy, writer of sad songs), Monica (in possession of an unfeasibly...
Read more