Review

Continued...

Along the way he has adventues with, in no particualr order, coloured mist, a pyschopathic dragon, a spoilt enchanter's daughter with a penchant for striptease, a hurricane forceful enough to take the wind out of even Michael Fish's sails, ferocious werewolf-like creatures called dogfighters, a carniverous giant, red indians, and the giant waterfall at the edge of the world.

Some schools of acting, faced with the technical and financial limitations of the stage, would have made a dreary mime out of this. "Now children, imagine that there is a Viking ship in my cupped hands."

But from the moment that Erik's crew produce a ship's mast apparently from nowhere and shin up it, you know that you will be in for a show of non-stop resourcefulness.

Highlight of the show must be Richard Ashton's giant, garbed in ill-fitting string-vest, as low in self-esteem as he is lofty in height.

But the vikings, led by Jay Worthy as Erik and Simon Bridge as Ragner Forkbeard, brave of heart but content to leave the thoughtful stuff to Erik, flood the stage with an infectious enthusiasm that is perhaps the show's greatest asset. The whole cast is young, athletic, and clearly having a good time. One just hopes that verve never gets knocked out of them by real-life demons and monsters like the Arts Council and mean critics.

Oh, and the smoke. That constantly billows from the wings, in all sorts of guises. To the delight of children in the audience, it envelops them as well as the actors - a completely new variant on the traditional fag behind the bicycle shed.