Beowulf

EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL 2008 REVIEW

BEOWULF

Philip Wharton

Greenside, 1b Royal Terrace 15:00  hours

August 12 – 23, (not 17), at 15.30, (2 hours)

£5.00, £8.00. (£6.00)

Reviewed by Jacqueline Sharp

 As soon as I walked in and heard Philip Wharton’s performance, I felt like I had an enlightening and spiritual experience, being drawn in by his emotionally charged talent.  In Beowulf, Wharton explores with his “inner event”, he “purges and transforms” into many of the Beowulf characters, like a changeling.  

Wharton, a follower of The Michael Chekhov Technique, said “he was inspired by Michael Chekhov, the actor, director and teacher, who later became acting coach to the Hollywood stars.  Chekhov followers were Garry Cooper, Marilyn Monroe, Gregory Peck, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Quinn, Ingrid Bergman, and Yul Brynner.  Unfortunately, he died in 1955, before his work became widely known.  His book “To the Actor” is followed by example still today by many actors, scholars, stage schools, and universities. Wharton, describes Chekhov, “as the person who inspired him”. 

Wharton using Chekhov techniques delves into his “creative individuality”, in this one man show, many parts, using parts of his “unconscious, to develop his psycho incorporating imagination and body as well as intellect”, as is the Chekhov style.

Wharton’s version of Beowulf is loyal to the poem, the earliest surviving epic in the English language, going back to the 6th century AD. 

Beowulf, the movie, directed by Robert Zemeckis, added fantasy, his own version of what happened, after ten years of research, says, in quote, “the poem always seemed disjointed”.  Zemeckis, invented a character to his movie, Grendel’s mother, a sultry siren, man-eater, who seduced Hrothgar and Beowulf, giving birth to Grendel, who was King Hrothgar’s monster child.  Zemeckis said he wanted to adapt the story to “make sense” and it was how he “wanted Beowulf to be seen, just add to the fantasy of it all".

Wharton’s version bears little similarity to Zemeckis' other than both describing the same scene in the Mead Hall, filled with gore, battle, blood and death. Both the movie and Wharton’s version describe Grendel’s arm was hacked off by Beowulf, describing the gore and bloodshed.

Overall, I enjoyed listening to Wharton's amazing live performance. Several times I had to close my eyes, as I imagined being in the Mead Hall at the time.

Go see this production. I as it is storytelling at grassroots level.  Wharton calls it “back to the basics of old fashioned storytelling”. 

Yes, there are lots of tales of gore; monsters, dragons, victory and glory, but you will enjoy hearing about the brave Beowulf, the great hero!  Wharton says, “old fashioned storytelling doesn’t frighten children, it inspires them to delve into their imagination”.

Perhaps two hours was a bit too long, but in hindsight it could be argued that this larger-than-life tale of Beowulf couldn’t be rushed.  It's well Chekhov performance is well worth watching!

For those interested in knowing more about Philip Wharton, go to www.raggedwing.org.  In January 2007, he performed at The Metal Shop Theatre, Berkeley, California, United States, with Ragged Wing Ensemble.  He was a baggy panted, drunken Stephano, in The Tempest, William Shakespeare production.

Ragged Wing Ensemble was named “Best New Theatre Company” in the East Bay by the East Bay Express.

Philip has a love of the spoken word, his performance pieces uniting music and word in the past have been, “The Gospel of Saint Mark”, “The Wrath of Achilles” and “The Story of Tuan MacCairill”. 

Philip Wharton email: mimeider@yahoo.com, for more information.