NORSE MYTHOLOGY
BBC Radio Thor
reLeased oUT noW! 90 minutes | radio broadcast/now
available on BBC sounds Publisher BBC radio 4
A Neil Gaiman adaptation has become a Christmas tradition on BBC Radio 4 – in recent years they’ve given us Neverwhere, Good Omens and Anansi Boys, and this Boxing Day his most recent book, Norse Mythology – which retells 15 of the tales of Thor, Loki, Odin and the rest – got the same treatment. Unlike the previous ones, this hasn’t been tackled by Dirk Maggs – instead, the adaptation has been handled by Lucy Catherine – but it has a similarly enviable cast, including Derek Jacobi (Odin), Natalie Dormer (Freya), Colin Morgan (Loki) and Diana Rigg, with Nathaniel Martello-White as Thor.
Of course these stories were told countless times before Gaiman revisited them, but this adaptation captures his take very well, with the casual tone of his dialogue contrasting with the epic scale of events. The stories work best with a narrative voice, so this version adds a framing device in which a kindly old woman (Rigg) tells the stories to an anxious child. The sound design is vivid and evocative – you never once feel like you’re listening to some people in a room – and everyone relishes their role, especially Morgan, who proves once more that the best part is Loki, not Thor.
Maybe they’ve missed a trick – the stories selected (this adaptation cuts a few from the book, including “The Mead Of Poets”, which is a shame) are very distinct from each other, and there’s no need for them to be delivered in a single 90-minute chunk. Giving each story its own 10-minute episode seems a more logical format, and would surely suit anyone listening after broadcast via BBC Sounds. But equally, you can imagine the whole sweeping saga grabbing an audience sitting by the fire on a wet wintry afternoon. Eddie Robson
Morgan proves once more that the best part is Loki
Neil Gaiman has a cameo appearance – there’s a radio on in the framing scenes, and the announcer’s voice is his.