Odd and the Frost Giants is a fantastical Christmas panto and a lovingly crafted children’s drama with sing-alongs, bubbles, lighting effects, and a lot of love. While some elements feel underdeveloped and unexplored, there is still a lot to love in this festive family show. Odd and the Frost Giants is playing at the Unicorn Theatre until December 31. Book Tickets
The Christmas pantomime has become a festive staple for many families, as they enjoy kid-friendly music, colourful sets and costumes, sing-alongs, and a sprinkling of silly, loving, and carefully crafted humour that appeals to all ages. This Christmas, the Unicorn Theatre offers family audiences something familiar yet delightfully different – a stage version of Neil Gaiman’s story Odd and the Frost Giants. It is a story about an isolated and brave young boy with a disability and three Norse Gods, Thor, Loki, and Odin, who have been turned into animals and expelled from Asgard by the Frost Giants.
Odd and the Frost Giants is a brave choice of story, given the challenge of its locations, the animals, and its scope, especially when considering the small budget of the production and the limited options for effects beyond lighting, sound, and carwash-like brushes resembling snow-laden trees. It is, therefore, impressive that Milla Clarke, Beth Duke and Simisola Majekodunmi’s stage and technical design works, as the audience, especially the kids, are quickly transported into a fantasy world that relies on imagination more than tech. It’s also wonderful to see a show fully captioned throughout, with the dialogue cleverly projected onto the stage throughout the show.
Odd and the Frost Giants – credit and copyright: Helen Murray.
Rachel Bagshaw’s production, adapted by Robert Alan Evan, depends on the performances of its small cast and their ability to convey the magic of a world we cannot fully see, and thankfully, they don’t falter, even if some are given more material to play with than others. Archee Aitch Wylie is excitable, endearing and lovable as Odd, with a performance wrapped in childlike wonder. At the same time, Georgia Frost shines as a ‘buzzing’ ‘mad for it” Thor, with a stream of jokes only adults in the audience will fully comprehend. Then we have the sly and witty Loki, played by Leo Wan, who effortlessly glides across the stage and savours every line of his richly detailed dialogue. However, Simon Startin has a far more challenging role as Odin, highlighting a problem the production’s creativity can’t overcome. While Loki, as a fox, and Thor, as a bear, are largely workable, Odin, as an eagle, is not: it’s a jump too far, and even the kids appeared bemused by his character and what he was supposed to be.
Another weakness in this adaptation is Odd’s disability. Archee Aitch Wylie points to Odd’s physical disability through the use of a crutch (that appears and disappears throughout) and dialogue that explores their treatment by other children and adults. However, the show’s discussions on bullying, difference, isolation and oppression feel underdeveloped, and some terminology used needed to be fully unpacked for children. Equally, seating areas at the front and the rear of the auditorium require children with physical disabilities to navigate tricky stairs. Therefore, while the inclusivity of captioning is more than welcome, Odd’s physical disability is strangely under-explored in design, access, and narrative detail.
Odd and the Frost Giants has its heart in the right place and deserves praise for its creativity and ambition; it is, therefore, unfortunate that recent allegations surrounding Gaiman may stop some people from booking a ticket. Odd and the Frost Giants is a fantastical Christmas panto and a lovingly crafted children’s drama with sing-alongs, bubbles, lighting effects, and a lot of love. While some elements feel underdeveloped and unexplored, there is still a lot to love in this festive family show.
Follow Us