Orpheus

Wright and Grainger never fail to impress with their productions. Orpheus takes the story of Orpheus, turns him into David (well, it is set in modern times after all) and re-tells the story in all its glorious poignancy.

This, like Helios and Grandpa Poseidon, is storytelling at its best, drawing on a tradition found in all cultures. Using music as auditory illustration, Alex Wright spoke the words of his story like an operatic recitative or a French Chanson or an ancient Greek legend being told to the audience as stories have been told for millennia.

I saw Helios in the Yurt in the Courtyard of Curiosities and was captivated by the magical atmosphere that was evoked by the space; the audience seated in a circle as though around a firepit, with the storyteller in the middle of them all.

Orpheus was staged in the Treasury Courtyard. A delightful location, but there were some distractions for the audience: birds flying overhead, the occasional emergency vehicle screaming past, but most significantly, some wobbles with the sound system. The music was a little too loud for all the words to be clear and there were at least three deafening feedback squarks from the guitar.

Wright and Grainger handled these events with consummate skill, but the flow of the story was broken each time. Hopefully, the tech issues will have been resolved for the remaining performances, as it’s a wonderful production and well worth seeing. Though I think it would have more atmosphere in a Yurt!

Until 23 March – check the Fringe website as this show could sell out.

Orpheus
Performed by Alex Wright  and Phil Grainger
Produced by Joanne Hartstone
Courtyard at Treasury