Stephen Fry goes long with Mythos
There’s a moment near the end of Stephen Fry’s Shaw Festival marathon “Mythos” — say, hour six or so — when he goes on a funny tangent about doing the voice for a new audio book several years ago.
The book shared many of the themes of Greek mythology, which he loved. About a young wizard who goes to a magical school to prepare for his destiny. The book, of course, was “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” and when the author J.K. Rowling told Fry she had completed a sequel, he offered a somewhat patronizing “Well, good for you!”
The audience at the Festival Theatre Saturday night exploded in laughter, and at this point would have gladly sat back for three or four more hours of stories like this. Fry is a fascinating figure and a mesmerizing storyteller, which has made “Mythos” the main event at the Shaw Festival this season.
It’s a world première, based on Fry’s new book “Mythos: A Retelling of the Myths of Ancient Greece,” and is broken into three separate shows called “Gods,” “Heroes” and “Men.”
To get the full experience you have to see all three, which is where the problems arise. Each show is about 2½ hours long, and tickets for the best seats cost upward of $270 each, twice what this year’s big musical “Grand Hotel” will set you back. After 7½ hours, your wallet will be just as exhausted as your brain.
Fry doesn’t hide the fact all three shows are part of a whole, even joking (or was he?) about the “cheapskates” who see one show but not the other two. He even ends the first two parts — “Gods” and “Heroes” — with moderate cliffhangers. But it all feels drawn out, as if Shaw is trying to stretch as much out of Fry as it can. If you want a movie comparison, it’s like Peter Jackson turning “The Hobbit” into three overlong movies when one would suffice.
Taken in one gulp, “Mythos” feels like a well-produced college lecture, with Fry mostly sitting at centre stage with a backdrop of shifting images related to the
stories he’s telling. Occasionally he stands up to play a game of “Mythological Pursuit,” in which he lets the audience choose a category that prompts a bonus story related to Greek mythology — a clumsy bit of audience interaction that Fry makes a point of saying is the director’s idea.
Individually, each part offers a bit of the fascinating and the mundane. Despite Fry’s great voice and gifted storytelling, there are tough stretches to get through, whether your knowledge of Greek mythology runs deep or was provided by “Clash of the Titans.”
“Gods” goes back to the beginning and sets the template of
powerful figures doing awful things to each other. Whether it be Cronos castrating his dad and eating his own kids, or Zeus having multiple offspring with his own sister, these deities were a messed up bunch who just happened to create the world, according to the ancient Greeks.
“Heroes” delves into the exploits of Hercules, Perseus and other figures from the period after the Gods created humanity and they started becoming legends of their own.
“Men,” the final and most engaging instalment, has Fry recounting the stories of Troy, the Trojan War and the long, comically difficult journey home for
Odysseus.
Throughout, Fry adds funny embellishments and pointedly British slang — it’s like Greek mythology filtered through Monty Python — but as theatre it feels unfulfilled. It is, simply put, a guy on stage talking for several hours. Mostly seated, forcing director Carroll to find ways to break the monotony — at one point, Fry’s chair is circled with flames, and at others it rises above the stage.
Musical director Paul Sportelli’s score is intentionally muted, never meant to drown out Fry’s voice, while the basic set is mainly a series of banners to project images on.
No, despite the steep ticket price it is Fry and his God-like knowledge of the myths that are front and centre, so adjust your theatre expectations accordingly. Perhaps “Mythos” is better suited for the Olde Angel Inn a couple blocks away, where you can hear Fry’s yarns with a pint in hand and easy access to the loo.