Burnley Mechanics Theatre Company, Manchester

The Legend of Beowulf, St Pauls, Knightsbridge, London

November 12th, 2005

This was possibly one of the most enjoyable performances I've watched in a very longtime. It was well worth the journey from Manchester to London for. Beowulf went beyond my expectations and made me want to go back and see another performance, it was brilliant. The Travesty Players have numerous very talented performers many of which deserve mentioning. From start to finish the performances were top quality & vocals were brilliant. Performed at St Paul's Knightsbridge there was a very simple set up, with basic costumes which I feel worked very well, 5 minutes into the show I was mesmerised and in the interval I found myself willing time away to get to the 2nd Act. Godfrey Marriott had a great entrance as Weland and came across well as the "eccentric smith" who was telling the tale of the beast terrorising the Scyldings.

The title role of Beowulf was played by Stuart Boother, Stuart looked very much the part of an Icelandic warrior and he was totally believable. Stuart has stunning vocals - I thought he was amazing but especially singing "Maybe in this Cold Land" -I actually had goosebumps (and that's not because it was cold in the church) He is a consistent performer, he gave his all and it paid off. Eliot Carroll as Wiglaf also had brilliant vocals as did Anthony Flaum, Unferth. They were among quite a few others who impressed me with their performances. Abigail Rice as Grendel's mother was great, her presence was felt immediately and as with the rest of the cast. Abigail was 100% believable! I have to say Nicola Jane Buttigieg is exceptionally talented - the music and lyrics were amazing I found the story easy to follow. Nicola played Freawaru well, she has a beautiful voice I especially liked "Fate Will Soon Tell" with Elizabeth Griffin (Wealhtheow). Gabriel Vick has directed an excellent production by anybody's standards and I would definitely not think twice about going to another performance by the Travesty Players - they are an amazing bunch of people who put 110% into their performances and leave you wanting to see more.