Sharon Duncan-Brewster and company in the NT Public Acts production of The Odyssey: Episode 5 – The Underworld at the National Theatre, London. Picture: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg
The Odyssey: Episode 5 – The Underworld was reviewed at the Olivier, National Theatre, London.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
Over this year, the National Theatre’s Public Acts scheme has been retelling Homer’s Odyssey around the country, pulling in local arts organisations from Stoke, Doncaster, Trowbridge, Sunderland, and now London, to create works of theatre that connect us to the timeless tale of Odysseus’ long journey home after the Trojan War. This final instalment at London’s Oliver Theatre – directed by Emily Lim – sees Odysseus escaping the island paradise of Calypso and passing through Hades’ Underworld in order to make it home.
As probably (hopefully) the only reviewer of this show who has also written a musical based on The Odyssey Book XI with a gender-swapped lead character and a musical saw in its score (Sisyphus: A Rock ‘n’ Roll Musical – returning soon to a pub back room near you!), I was curious whether I would react with jealousy at this production’s bigger budget and trove of talent, or joy in finding a piece of art apparently made exactly and specifically for me. In the one and only instance of a theatre critic ever turning out to be a better person than expected, it was the latter. Sure, I instinctively bristled at changes made to the story and the conflation and erasure of various favourite characters (this is an Odyssey with no Penelope!), but this community exercise in retelling a classic story in a way that is relevant to our times and connects to a modern audience is unrelentingly charming. More than charming in fact: the sheen of National Theatre polish makes this Odyssey an invigorating spectacle.
Lending support to the hundreds of locally-sourced performers (I lost count. Not even while they were onstage: I was going through the programme trying to count the number of performers for this review and I lost count. I had a pen and paper and I still lost count. There are a lot of people in this show) are six bona fide West End superstars to keep the ship on course. Sharon Duncan-Brewster portrays Odysseus as not necessarily a “πολῠ́τροπος” (complicated/of twists and turns) man, but rather a deeply relatable woman whose angst, grief, guilt, drive and strength prove instrumental in making this piece as human and connecting as can be. She longs to be reunited with Telemachus, the son she hasn’t seen in 20 years, played here by Tarinn Callender, whose stunning voice provides some of this show’s musical highlights.
Elsewhere, the other “pro”s portray a smattering of The Odyssey’s many divine beings. Zubin Varla is a fantastically engaging Hades – a death god who is so much more than a cartoonish devil figure. Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is a dominating villain and a real crowd-pleaser as the perpetually angry god of the seas Poseidon. Sea nymph Calypso is outrageous and hilarious in the hands of Amy Booth-Steel, and as Odysseus’ protectress Athena, Emma Prendergast gives this show real heart. In a show surrounded by less experienced performers, these six could have taken it easy, but all deliver genuinely brilliant performances. The performance I attended was filmed, and I cannot wait to relive some of their musical high-points.
Of course, a coming together of hundreds of creatives of varying levels of professional experience to produce a very short running show will always result in some rough edges. There are a few sound issues, missed cues and moments where the enormous cast threatens to overwhelm, but the show is so good and the cast so charming that all this is easily forgiven. The only glaring issue for me is the lyrics, which are sometimes a little ‘first draft’ in comparison to the excellent writing elsewhere in Chris Bush’s book and Jim Fortune’s compelling and rock-infused score. Still, what is remarkable is how much of this production works spectacularly well, with some of the non-pro cast creating genuinely brilliant moments of theatre and even the most chaotic scenes being an incredible visual experience thanks to movement director Dan Canham.
Most elements of The Odyssey: The Underworld are as immaculate as you would expect from any National Theatre production. Costume designer Fly Davis is perhaps the star of the show, creating hundreds of distinctive outfits, including some truly stunning ensembles literally fit for the gods. Set designer Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and lighting designer Joshua Pharo keep the stage visually interesting at all times, and Fortune’s score sounds superb from music supervisor Tarek Merchant and his six-piece band.
Stories persist when they tap into something about the human condition, something that binds us. Works like Homer’s Odyssey weren’t even written down until they had been through many centuries of oral retelling and adaptation. There is absolutely a place for the classics in 2023 beyond Oxbridge libraries and tedious debates about ‘Western cultural heritage’. This Public Acts project has brought together communities from across the UK in an act of storytelling that touches the soul and leaves an audience full of wonder and joy. An incredible achievement, both logistical and artistic.
Ian Bowkett
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