After a three year hiatus from the Edinburgh Fringe, Tripod return with a fantasy-fuelled musical comedy. Emma McAlpine reviews.
“So it’s a musical about Dungeons and Dragons. Is anyone else panicking?”
One third of award-winning comedy trio Tripod, Steven Gates (better known as Gatesy) does a good job of articulating what some of their audience must be feeling at this early juncture of the show, as the group establish the theme. Joined by jazz singer Elana Stone, the story begins with four earnest characters playing a game of ‘D&D’, before getting sucked into its fantasy world of dragons, wizards and dungeon masters.
For anyone unfamiliar with the geeky '80s roleplay game, the first ten minutes might be a little confusing as the group establish their characters. Even with beginner Gatesy needing the rules explained, there are plenty of references that go straight over my head. I might have been completely unaware of them altogether, were it not for the pallid-faced man to my right ostentatiously guffawing with laughter, wearing a T-shirt saying: ‘If at first you don’t succeed…try downloading Beta’. This introductory part of the show is brief however, the main body is your classic fairy tale; with love, deception and a tragic battle along the way.
Making the most out of their props budget, Tripod use a large bedsheet, good lighting and some clever shadow puppetry to assist their story. The result is surprisingly effective and helps to illustrate what might have been a rather unfathomable plot. The main strength of the show however, lies in the music. With pitch-perfect harmonies and irresistibly catchy melodies, the trio demonstrate remarkable vocals, not to mention songwriting skills. Guest star Stone’s voice is particularly mesmerising. Both husky and dulcet; after her goosebump-inducing opener, the anticipation is palpable whenever she gets behind the mic.
Visually and musically, the show strikes gold. Where it doesn’t fare so well is on the comedy front. There are a few notable bits of ad-libbing (“Too scary for you?” asks Scod when one man’s weak bladder causes him to make an early exit), but the dialogue, while mildly amusing is never laugh-out-loud funny (man to my right the exception).
As a whole, Tripod Versus The Dragon is a well-crafted and entertaining show. As a bit of musical theatre, it’s brilliant. Just don’t expect many belly laughs to accompany it.
Tripod Versus The Dragon is at the Assembly on the Mound from 10th-29th August at 9:45pm
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