Ye gods! Harry Blake’s new musical ‘Thor and Loki’ is a jaw-droppingly silly romp through the Nine Realms that does go on a bit but, at its best, smacks you around the head with an enchanted hammer of pure joy.
Headed up by Bob Harm’s wildly irresponsible one-eyed patriarch Odin, the Gods live in Asgard, where they pose manfully, scoff on golden apples that guarantee their immortality, and of course, sing lots of songs.
‘Thor and Loki’ kicks off on the day that Odin’s son Thor comes of age (34, apparently). Played deadpan by Blake himself, the God of Thunder is, it turns out, a camp vegan who writes bad poetry and has little stomach for fighting – though he does seem rather taken with Mjölnir, the magical hammer that only he can lift.
Meanwhile, in the land of the Gods’ mortal enemies the Giants, a wide-eyed, well-meaning young woman named Loki (Alice Keedwell) is trying to ingratiate herself with her peers by inviting them to a picnic. To no avail – they’re all off to join the army, and they’re disgusted by her sunny disposition and the horns that peek out of her head.
A single, fleeting Anthony Hopkins joke aside, ‘Thor and Loki’ has nothing to with the Marvel versions of these characters – which is probably for the best, as it’s harder to imagine a better send-up of them than the magnificent ‘Thor: Ragnarok’.
Nonetheless, it certainly benefits from the MCU’s popularisation of the basics of Norse myth – the fact the average audience member will be at least vaguely clued up on Heimdall, the Bifrost, the Realms et al does make something that might have seemed obscure full accessible.
Eleanor Rhode’s production for HighTide is a raggedy but largely delightful thing, propelled by a fine cast who seem to be having a hoot. The actual writing ebbs and flows a bit, mind: Blake has crafted lots of good gags and some great songs (there’s a wondrous Lloyd-Webber pastiche towards the end), plus some terrific characters, but the actual plot is fairly tedious, and it could really do with a general prune.
I suspect this isn’t the show that Blake – also a talented sound composer – will end up being known for. But as the first musical offering from The House of Blakewell (aka him and Keedwell) – it’s a thunderously fun start.