RUNESICAL - GIGGLEMUG THEATRE (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5)
Is RuneSical the answer to a British StarKid
RuneSical was originally performed at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival by Gigglemug Theatre. It’s amazing that theatre has become interactive and RuneSical doesn’t disappoint by using this feature with their improvisation as YOU get to decide what happens next in this musical comedy.
“Based on the hugely popular online game RuneScape, join Lance_054 (the first 53 were taken) on a quest where the audience chooses what happens next!”
Interactive elements in the media have been on the rise especially on streaming platforms like Netflix with their recent romantic comedy... Choose Love. I was initially intrigued about how this was going to be kept in the musical but having the next videos appear at the end of the previous one was a really cool concept. I want to rewatch it again and see where the other options would have taken me.
Having the video game elements in the musical was key to making it more authentic to its original source material. This was done by the actors taking a neutral stance with their arms out either spinning around slowly or moving up and down. By doing this it kept the feel of the video game alive when you had to choose where you wanted the narrative to be explored.
You can tell in the musical score that these are people who have been inspired by songs from musicals like Hamilton as the opening features a rap. The rap part of the song felt like someone getting inspiration from the quick tempo changes that Hamilton has. My favourite song is from when we get introduced to the Fishermen who have the rod that our three main characters want. There were some puzzled people who wondered why the cat would want a rod but when the catfishing joke was made I knew from that moment that Gigglemug Theatre knew where their comedic moments were.
Having the audience participation shown on screen helped with the context of what was going on such as the friendship handshake between Odin and Lance. There was one moment when I thought a microphone was shown on screen by mistake when it got to the point of choosing which part you wanted to go on. I chose the Lance option and it was revealed to be a prop that the cast gave to an audience member to throw at the option he chose. My confusion was settled and I really liked the fact that this moment was kept in on the final edit.
In terms of their production elements, I liked how creative their costumes were especially with the character of the Drunk Viking who used the actress’ plaits as her beard. This was very ingenious and would help tremendously with quick changes. I also liked how the lighting was used with filters over the fresnels to represent danger when it was revealed that Odin wasn’t who they said they were. There was also a blackout which I loved to represent a reset in the game. This felt like the audience was part of the confusion that was happening on stage.
A comparison can be made with Starkid (an American theatre company that produces original musicals) as both shared similarities in their comedy and how it uses audience participation to help push the narrative along such as The Trail to Oregon. What makes the two theatre companies different is that people like myself who were watching it on YouTube could still feel like they were part of the audience as video suggestions popped up.
What I feel was lacking in this production was a stage being defined in the space. Even though the space was small, a promenade stage could have easily helped raise the actors and make a level in the audience more accessible for people from the back. The stage could have been made to look ancient through ageing and have vines and leaves coming out of it. There was one moment in the musical when I felt like was lost because there was no music behind it. This was the ending of “Freaky Troll” and I think that if there was one chord being played on the piano or on an electric guitar, it would have added more power to the ending as it felt flat to me.
Overall, I really enjoyed RuneSical with all the interactive elements making this production for me. It has left me wanting more from Gigglemug and I can’t wait to see what they’ve got in store for the near future.
You can follow Gigglemug Comedy on their socials @thegigglemug and keep up to date with them on their website.
RuneSical is still available to watch on YouTube.
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