The Gods, The Gods, The Gods

Alex Wright and Phil Grainger
Wright & Grainger in association with Hartstone-Kitney Productions (HKP)
Assembly Rooms

The Gods, The Gods, The Gods

Entering the Bijou tent on George Street, we are immediately transported—encouraged to introduce ourselves to a stranger in the half-lit, haze-filled middle of the floor. Given the title and Wright and Grainger’s previous work, it feels like a descent to the edge of the underworld, lost souls seeking to connect.

Soon, the three stages burst into life with four stories: the gods’ actions on earth, intertwining through spoken word, beats and song. But these Gods are not the toga-clad superheroes of mythology; they walk among us, collars turned up, performing acts of love and kindness.

Written by Alex Wright and Phil Grainger, who perform along with Megan Drury, The Gods, The Gods, The Gods is a perfect piece of gig-theatre, with soaring melodies, genuine tenderness and hope that takes us on a euphoric journey of intimacy, death and faith.

The narratives pass with incredible speed as young lovers fall hard but whose urgency stumbles on their differences in theology: he has a god, where she doesn’t feel the need; Bronwen is making sense of life without her husband, reminiscing and remarking on the small changes in her world; a busker tries to hold onto hope; Zeus has called a meeting in an all-night café—the old Gods are retiring and it’s up to us now.

At a time when there are so many challenges in our lives, we need to be reminded that, if we come together in kindness and compassion, we can be transported from Hades into the heavens. This is a truly life-affirming experience.

Reviewer: Tony Trigwell-Jones

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Are you sure?