Small Gods: a rip-snorting saga

Theatre

Monday May 18, 2015 Comments

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The Inquisitors in Unseen Theatre's Small Gods. Photo: Michael Errey

Sir Terry Pratchett may be gone but he is not forgotten. His satire is rip-roaring and, to borrow one of the fantasy author’s own quotes, his “words are the litmus paper of the mind”.

Small Gods confirms, yet again, Adelaide-based Unseen Theatre Company’s status as an accomplished and engaging presenter of Pratchett’s Discworld series of novels.

Small Gods. Photo: Michael Errey

Director Pamela Munt and her ensemble have taken the author’s thirteenth book and transformed it into something remarkable and compulsively enjoyable, creating the multi-layered society of the Disc in an enchanting, colourful fantasy adventure with a satirical bite.

The Great God Om (Alycia Rabig) manifests herself as a tortoise to novice monk Brutha (Timothy Tedmanson). At first, Brutha thinks it’s some demon. But shortly after his encounter with the deity, he is selected for a secret mission by the devious Deacon Vorbis (Adeodatus McCormack).

For a while, Brutha’s dreams of innocence are safe, untroubled by knowledge that the Church does not represent its God’s wishes. However, amid treachery, torture, slaughter and rebellion, a great prophet is born and life in Omnia will never be the same.

Munt has a great understanding of Discworld and Pratchett’s swipe at religion and intolerance, and as a result she has created a solid production. This is probably close to what Sir Terry had in his mind when he wrote the book.

The director allows the saga to sweep along on a wave of politics, battles, plots, passion and flights of fantasy. Her admirable cast whizzes along, too, with a goodly amount of gusto, talent and fun. The result is a good, rip-snorting tale and a significant contribution to the legacy of Sir Terry Pratchett.

Unseen Theatre Company is presenting Small Gods at the Bakehouse Theatre until May 30.

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<h1>Small Gods: a rip-snorting saga</h1>

<address><a href="https://inreview.com.au/contributors/stephen-davenport/" class="author">Stephen Davenport</a></address>
											
							Sir Terry Pratchett may be gone but he is not forgotten. His satire is rip-roaring and, to borrow one of the fantasy author’s own quotes, his “words are the litmus paper of the mind”.
Small Gods confirms, yet again, Adelaide-based Unseen Theatre Company’s status as an accomplished and engaging presenter of Pratchett’s Discworld series of novels.
<div id="attachment_40258" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://indaily.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Small-Gods-2.jpg"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-40258" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-40258" src="https://indaily.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Small-Gods-2.jpg" alt="Small Gods. Photo: Michael Errey" width="300" height="425" /></a>
Small Gods. Photo: Michael Errey
</div>
Director Pamela Munt and her ensemble have taken the author’s thirteenth book and transformed it into something remarkable and compulsively enjoyable, creating the multi-layered society of the Disc in an enchanting, colourful fantasy adventure with a satirical bite.
The Great God Om (Alycia Rabig) manifests herself as a tortoise to novice monk Brutha (Timothy Tedmanson). At first, Brutha thinks it’s some demon. But shortly after his encounter with the deity, he is selected for a secret mission by the devious Deacon Vorbis (Adeodatus McCormack).
For a while, Brutha’s dreams of innocence are safe, untroubled by knowledge that the Church does not represent its God’s wishes. However, amid treachery, torture, slaughter and rebellion, a great prophet is born and life in Omnia will never be the same.
Munt has a great understanding of Discworld and Pratchett’s swipe at religion and intolerance, and as a result she has created a solid production. This is probably close to what Sir Terry had in his mind when he wrote the book.
The director allows the saga to sweep along on a wave of politics, battles, plots, passion and flights of fantasy. Her admirable cast whizzes along, too, with a goodly amount of gusto, talent and fun. The result is a good, rip-snorting tale and a significant contribution to the legacy of Sir Terry Pratchett.
Unseen Theatre Company is presenting Small Gods at the Bakehouse Theatre until May 30.
 
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