4.5 stars
Ragnarøkkr is an hour of rock music, in essence a concept album performed live, telling the story of Ragnarok from a fresh perspective.
With a voice that’s the blues-rock-lovechild of David Bowie and Neil Diamond, St John Cowcher takes on the role of Loki, and it’s a very good fit indeed. He’s a trickster god primed to bring about the end of the world and it’s from his perspective that we follow the story.
Image courtesy of Variegated Productions
Fittingly, given the shift in perspective, the end of the world is reshaped as an inevitable uprising against the gods, corrupt and uncaring overlords that they are. It is Loki in charge of the revolution though, so you’d be reasonably able to question his motives.
Cowcher’s ability to shift between righteous revolutionary, to egotistical maniac, and finally to a broken half-god accepting his doom makes for a compelling front man to this rock music three-piece.
The music that forms the core of the show is fantastic, with Gracie Mae Smith pounding the drums and Joe Paradise Lui shredding on guitar. Transitions between songs are generally seamless, and the music ebbs and flows, interspersed with spoken pieces that carry the story forward.
The lyrics and spoken pieces have a very simple verse and rhyme structure which, perhaps due to Cowcher’s strong Australian accent, somehow brings to mind early bush poetry. That doesn’t detract. It is, after all, a gods-be-damned rock show so you shouldn’t expect layered subtlety and the simple language and straightforward narrative fits the shield-splintering tone.
Still, there are some interesting elements to that narrative. While firmly drawing from Norse mythology—there won’t be any surprises for anyone with a passing understanding of either of the Eddas—there are also allusions towards modern themes such as power structures and the ongoing climate emergency.
It’s incongruous seeing a rock show in the black box space of The Blue Room Theatre, although the lighting and smoke effects are more than up to the task of setting the mood.
With drums, effects pedals, a smoke machine, and yet more drums filling the stage, the naturally lofty Cowcher is a little cramped. Still, he strides back and forth atop seven inch platform boots before the audience, and he definitely cuts a very impressive figure. His rousing pre-battle speech—where perhaps a little of his true motivations are revealed—is a particular highlight.
It’s a stunning hour of rock cabaret. You’ll be offered ear plugs at the door, and you’ll need them.
Tickets available from the FRINGE WORLD website.
GLEN SEABROOK-BENSON