Fringe Review: Gods and HeroesReviewed by Anna Sutherland
Photo: Ali Little
Gods and Heroes
WIT – Wellington Improvisation Troupe
BATS Theatre
The Wellington Improvisation Troupe (WIT) presented a show based on a great concept at BATS Theatre on Sunday night. It
had flashes of brilliance, and some less watchable moments, too.
The show is character-based improv based on the premise that the Greek pantheon have been forced to live at the top of
Mount Victoria. The actors each play a god, and they weave narratives based on the characteristics of the gods they
portray.
Wiremu Tuhiwai played Tangaroa, the Maori god of the sea, instead of Poseidon, the corresponding Greek god. This added a
welcome different perspective.
The stories the gods tell start from three suggestions from the audience, ours were: a good personal quality - clean
finger nails; a Wellington icon - the bucket fountain; and a useful object - soap. (I thought perhaps they should have
rejected ‘soap’ on the basis that it was too closely related to ‘clean finger nails’.)
They take on other characters, mortals, aside from the gods to create their stories, and these characters relate in some
way to the god the actor is playing, for example, the actor playing Aphrodite plays other characters in love.
The stories are developed throughout the show, and the gods reveal a kernel of wisdom from the scenes that have played
out in a final, summing-up dance.
Last night it was wonderful to see the stories reach their conclusion, and there was some great use of non-naturalistic
techniques such as song, mime, and dance in the scenes.
It seemed that sometimes the performers were trying to be witty at the expense of accepting each other’s offers, staying
in character, and not blocking each other’s ideas.
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Gods and Heroes at the fringe.co.nz (includes gods' blogs)