Friday, 2nd February 2024 at York Theatre Royal
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Cronus and Rhea. Aphrodite. Zeus and Hera. Persephone. Dionysus. Eurydice and Orpheus. Aside from the wonderful poetry of the names, the stories of the Greek gods are an assortment of the unexpected, the macabre and the downright bizarre. Orpheus Dismembered takes audiences on a whistle stop tour of these entertainingly wild tales…
Ben Haggarty is our tour guide from the top of Mount Olympus down to the Underworld and back again. We are told that this is Greek Mythology: RAW and uncensored. The trigger warnings could fill a goblet or two and there is a real emphasis on bracing the audience for the darkest corners of the stories we’re about to hear. Granted, the tales deliver gore and weird twists and turns, but I wouldn’t let those trigger warnings deter you from embracing an evening with this talented storyteller.
Haggarty is a very gifted orator and gives colour and range to the many characters and their eventful lives he conjures, accompanied only by a few choice props and musical underscoring. He captivates his audience with ease, smoothly moving through character voices and physicalities, putting weight and venom and real relish behind the goriest details, and delighting in throwing in a witty one liner to bring us up for air in the here and now.
Jonah Brody provides a rich assortment of underscoring, often juggling more than one instrument at a time to give drama and flair to Haggarty’s narration. There’s a warm rapport between the two along the way, as Haggarty interjects comments to Jonah within his own stories, and in return Brody offers the odd comic reaction to break the spell of each tale before then next begins. At two hours with interval, it does at times feel like a little more theatrical magic would help to maintain momentum, but there’s no denying that Haggarty holds his audience like a beloved English teacher bringing thrilling stories to life on a rainy school day afternoon.
Most of us have at least some awareness of the famous gods and the lessons their lives teach, but surely far fewer know the details depicted here so vividly. If you’re intrigued by the snippets you do know, this show will feed that fire and reinvigorate interest in the lives of those famously amorous, vengeful and ever inventive gods.
Orpheus Dismembered played just one night at York Theatre Royal, but you can keep up with Ben Haggarty and upcoming performances here.
Always Time For Theatre 
Leave a comment