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Roll for Initiative: The Wizard’s Tower – Dance City, Newcastle

Reviewer: Jonathan Cash

Director: Michelle Bayly

The performance is described as a live, interactive, playable role play game experience. It draws on the canon of sword and sorcery, from Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings to the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett and a myriad of computer and role play games such as, prominently, Dungeons and Dragons.

Three actors play heroes suggested by audience members on sheets they fill in beforehand, in a game hosted by a quest master. They must complete a series of challenges culminating in the final battle at the titular wizard’s tower. Their success or otherwise is determined by rolls of a large 20-sided dice. Back story, context and special characteristics of the game universe are drawn from audience suggestions. Their antagonists, defined as “Non Player Characters”, are portrayed by two more actors, playing multiple roles. All the dialogue is improvised.

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The performance takes place on a bare stage, accommodating a range of props and costumes, to be drawn from as befits the characters represented. Lighting and sound effects are also improvised. Needless to say, every performance is different, and the range of the story and characters is limited only by the imagination of the audience and the actors.

It might perhaps seem redundant to review a performance that will never be repeated, but it seems logical to assume future shows will follow a similar pattern, based on the following that the company has already developed. Based on a show of hands, perhaps half of the audience at this performance had attended one or more of their previous shows.

It can be guessed that such a structure would lead to a slightly chaotic evening, and it does. The chaos is skilfully marshalled, though, by the genial Quest Master, Graham Oakes. It is also predictable that many of the character suggestions are ribald and somewhat scatological at times. What might not be predicted is just how outrageously funny the evening becomes under the auspices of a terrifically inventive and imaginative cast.

They embody the characters skilfully and with great enthusiasm, interacting like a first-rate comedy team to draw every once of humour and fun out of the situations they are placed in. It would be hard to imagine an audience enjoying themselves more. Your reviewer has no experience of role play games and little of computer gaming but found this was no obstacle to enjoyment.

No doubt, each show will yield its own highlights but Adam Harrison’s portrayal of Beryl, the bearded mermaid, trapped in a lift with a gnome with catastrophic diarrhoea is likely to live in the audience’s memory for some time. Michael Curry’s character of The Milkman, limited in speech to one sentence, “I am the milkman,” was similarly iconic. This is not to dismiss Liam Scarth’s splendid portrayal of a soft-hearted centaur or the sterling work done by Michelle Bayly and Lewis Black in playing everybody else, sometimes two characters at once. Helen Doyle also did terrific work in producing the music and effects to effectively complement the show and build the atmosphere.

This may not be a performance to suit everyone, given the sometimes-coarse nature of the subject matter, but it should have a very wide appeal, nonetheless, especially given the huge market for the genre and the simple fact that it is hugely entertaining.

The interjections from certain audience members did become a little tiresome at times, though the cast could hardly be blamed for that. This was the company’s first performance to such a large audience in a bigger venue and they will no doubt learn from it. The final battle, also, with the long sequence of dice throws, was perhaps a little less riveting than the previous action but it was still a very enjoyable evening, delivering its own brand of sorcery.

Reviewed on 25th July 2024.

The Reviews Hub Score

Hugely Entertaining Fantasy-Fest

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The Reviews Hub - Yorkshire & North East

The Yorkshire & North East team is under the editorship of Jacob Bush. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

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One Comment

  1. Fantastic performance. Having seen 4 previous shows from it’s inception ad a 30 to 40 minute offering to tge extended 1 hour plus show to this 2 hour plus extravaganza. You don’t have to be into fantasy to enjoy this show. It’s originality is it’s success, every show is different, every ending a surprise. A worthwhile running mate to the Mousetrap.

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