Review: ADELAIDE FRINGE 2016: BEOWULF: THE BLOCKBUSTER Will Move You Deeply

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Tuesday 23rd February 2016

Beowulf: The Blockbuster is written and performed by Bryan Burroughs, who presents a family, including the unborn son, later the nine-year-old, the father, and the grandfather and grandmother. It is being presented by Arts Projects Australia with support from Culture Ireland and can be seen in the Showroom one at GC, The German Club. It is one of three Irish plays being performed in this venue during the Fringe, and they are all highly recommended.

Written in Old English by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon somewhere between the eighth and eleventh centuries, the Beowulf poem, set in the fifth century, is the most ancient of all epic poems in that language. It concerns the hero, Beowulf, who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, the King of the Danes, and kills the marauding monster, Grendel. Grendel's mother is furious and also attacks, but is also defeated by Beowulf. Beowulf then returns home to Sweden but, fifty years later, a dragon appears. He slays it, but is mortally wounded and dies soon after.

We now order ready mixed concrete, which is delivered in a large truck. Going further back in time it was mixed on site in a cement mixer, from a pile of sand and bags of cement. The father worked with concrete and, when opening and emptying bags of cement into the mixer, dust flew around everywhere and it was impossible to avoid breathing it in. Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare legislation was still many years in the future, and the danger of cement dust was not known, or kept secret, so no breathing apparatus was worn.

The father is now dying and manages to leave the hospital one last time to visit his young son, now being cared for by the grandmother, to say goodbye and explain that he is dying. The father has always been a story teller, recounting the stories of the cinema to his son, Superman, Indiana Jones, Bruce Lee and, of course, Star Wars, playing out all of the characters and the action in each tale. He is beyond that now, as he wheezes and coughs his way through their time together.

This time is different, and he proceeds to tell his son a new story, that of Beowulf. The tale unfolds and becomes a metaphor to explain to the boy that there comes a time when everybody must die, even the greatest of heroes. The boy interrupts at times, modifying the story a little to style it nearer to those with which he is familiar but, when he sees the end coming, he insists on a happy ending, in which Beowulf lives. The father obliges, but the boy realises that he needs to be told the truth, and asks for the real ending, which the father duly supplies.

Burroughs plays all of the characters in this bitter-sweet production, humour offsetting the deep sadness to avoid becoming maudlin. Nonetheless, there were some teary eyes around me as the full significance sank in. Behind him is an illuminated rectangle and his only prop is a light sabre. He doesn't even need that much.

Burroughs gives a phenomenal performance, not only switching characters but throwing in accents considerably removed from his own native Irish accent. All of the father's heroes in his stories, we are told, talk like Sean Connery, and his son insists that Grendel's mother sound like a female Crocodile Dundee. He also requires that Unferth, who attempts to discredit Beowulf, have an English accent.

None of this is a problem for Burroughs, who presents all of these accents, as well as voicing the various family members, but it does not stop there. His performance is also very physical, displaying an exception control of his body. This is a powerful and very moving production, relying entirely on the immense talent of Bryan Burroughs to bring it off. Make sure that this is on your list of Fringe events this year.

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