If you hear the name Thor and think of Chris Hemsworth (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?), you may be in for a shock at the Blue Elephant this week. Having previously tackled the Arabian Nights and Greek mythology, Hammer & Tongs Theatre have now turned their attention to the Vikings. Legends: Monsters, Mead & Mayhem is a fast-paced and very funny tour of the nine worlds of Norse mythology, in which elves dance unwary travellers to death, Thor keeps losing his hammer, and dwarves like to murder visitors and turn them into beverages. All of this is watched over by the guardians, armed with a pair of magic binoculars, who have the thankless task of keeping the peace, whilst drinking a lot of tea and sorting the mail.

Written and directed by Jennifer Rose Lee, this work in progress may be at an early stage in its development, but it’s already shaping up to be great fun for the whole family. Three actors (Oliver Yellop, Charlotte Reid and Philippa Hambly) play all the parts – so many I lost count – with a variety of accents from American to Brummy to Scottish, and with music and some occasionally rather too graphic sound effects supplied by George Mackenzie-Lowe, who’s installed in a corner for the duration of the show. Though the actors themselves seem occasionally on the verge of laughter, they all give energetic and enjoyable performances, keeping each role distinct from the next and somehow managing to keep up with the rapid pace of the story.

Though it’s essentially a sketch show, dropping in on all the different worlds and their eccentric inhabitants but always returning to the three guardians at the centre, there is a main plot thread linking everyone together. This revolves around the story of a poet created by the gods, whose skill makes him famous throughout the nine worlds… but he’s about to discover that fame isn’t always a good thing.

Perhaps we could have lingered a little longer on some of the stories; the show’s certainly entertaining enough that it can stand to go beyond its current 50 minutes, and though transitions between scenes are smooth, the brevity of some of the sketches currently means the show feels a little bit choppy. The characters are well-drawn and intriguing, deliberately going against our expectations; we have a friendly sea monster, inelegant elves – and Thor, who’s not only definitely not Chris Hemsworth, he’s also not the sharpest knife in the drawer, bless him. This subversion of what we think we know about Norse mythology supplies most of the dry humour of the evening, and makes me wish not only that the show was longer, but also that I’d seen what Hammer & Tongs did with the more familiar world of Greek legend in their previous production, MYTHS.

This family show reminds me a little of Horrible Histories, in that it’s definitely not based in any kind of fact, but still gives the audience enough info to whet our appetites and make us want to learn more, whilst keeping us well and truly entertained. Already a lot of fun and with great performances from an engaging cast, I look forward to seeing how the show develops from here.

Can’t see the map on iPhone? Try turning your phone to landscape and that should sort it. I don’t know why but I’m working on it… 😉