Odyssey

In a stunning piece of physicalized story-telling, Lecoq-trained George Mann becomes a human shape-shifter as he embodies tens of characters from Homer’s epic about the return of Odysseus to Ithaca after the torments of the Trojan War.

Mann begins a little over-illustratively and one is concerned that every phrase will be acted out to the detriment of the compellingly concise text. But tune into his style, cartoonish, grotesque, endlessly inventive and this ranks as one of the strongest solo performances at this year’s fringe.

Not only does Mann metamorphose between gods and monsters, between Hermes zipping about the heavens and the Cyclops lumbering about with his one swivelling eye, he also creates extraordinary sound effects with his voice and body.

All the key episodes from the Odyssey are there in a highly sophisticated, clear as a bell rendering of those sometimes loquacious 24 books. From Telemachus and Penelope to Circe and Calypso, from Zeus to the malevolent suitors, Mann’s protean physicality is astounding.

No other performance on the fringe this year leads you to suspend your disbelief more. As the Cylops, you flinch in horror as he plucks tiny men from the ground. As Odysseus, you see and feel the invisible bow between his hands.

This tour de force of physical theatre is unmissable.