Ancient heroes, the invention of the sausage, the whims of the gods and the patience of Penelope all get a slightly off-kilter spin in this enjoyable take on Homer's epic. It is certainly not all Greek; in fact, there is something very English and eccentric about this show. The London Bubble theatre company, so long purveyors of superb summertime walkabout theatre in the capital's parks, lost its shine a few years back – and then a great deal of its arts council funding. But it's come a long way since then, and is back on track with this enjoyably ragged but energising retelling of the Greek myth.
The money for the show was raised via Bubble's ingenious Fan-Made Theatre scheme, which gives audiences the chance to invest in the production, help choose the title and watch rehearsals. It has all been put together in a few weeks, and though the joins can sometimes be seen in Simon Startin's script and Jonathan Petherbridge's production, the show has real energy and tells its story well. If it lost 15 minutes and balanced the poetry and humour a little better, this would be a really terrific summer night out.
Even as it is, there are joys to be had and monsters to be seen along "the path paved with horror", including an entertainingly Heath Robinsonish Hydra. Besides storytelling, one of Bubble's great strengths is how it uses the parks themselves, turning the whole experience into a real theatrical adventure. The sense of the humans as puppets in the hands of the gods, and yet also a feeling that we make our own choices for good or ill, is neatly conveyed, and the cast give their all. Not quite divine, but very nice.
