Thor of the Common Man @ TheSpace on North Bridge

Review by Antony Sammeroff | 22 Aug 2013

Blessed by Tao, the creator of the universe, Thor is charged with the duty of being man's protector. A war rages between humans and demons, but Thor intervenes to save us from certain doom. We erect a statue in his memory, but before long time passes and his heroism is forgotten. The statue is brought back to the ground, leaving us vulnerable again to the rage of evil spirits who would seek to destroy us.

This fanciful synthesis between Eastern and Norse mythos is brought colourfully to light with traditional Chinese physical theatre and music. Demons in masks menace little wooden villagers who dance at the hand of their puppeteers. The battles between Thor and the Demons sometimes long to be extended – he wins too soon and with too much ease – but this is more testament to how enoyable these episodes truly are.

In a moment of pride Thor smites a villager who refuses to genuflect to his shadow, showing that even the God of thunder is not above a mortal weakness. In the end Thor makes himself victim to another vice, a little too much Chinese rice wine. His drunken dance is joyful, but his eventual fall pains us.

A must for lovers of physical theatre.

Run ended http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/dance-and-physical-theatre/thor-of-the-common-man