Review by Mark and Aimee
Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review.
In an ambitious international premiere, this acclaimed Kiwi theatre company delivers a gripping, original folk musical that strips away the marble veneer of classical myth to examine the jagged fractures beneath. Heracles: Of Men and Beasts bypasses the standard, glorious list of twelve labours to interrogate the cost of heroic legacy, posing a haunting question through its four-person cast: who are we when no one is watching—hero, man, beast, or god?
The show’s undisputed engine is its innovative audio landscape. Composer and lyricist Ollie Howlett stands at one corner of the in-the-round staging, utilising live-looping on guitar, keyboards, and effects to build a wall of sound so textured and expansive it easily rivals a full live band. This technical wizardry seamlessly bridges the distance between ancient Greek folklore and a slick, shadows-and-velvet 1940s Hollywood aesthetic. The noir-infused staging creates an atmosphere of tragic glamour, perfectly mirroring the story's dark, psychological undercurrents.
Caleb James (Heracles) captures the brutal duality of a figure torn between divine expectation and primal violence. James gives a grounded, soul-bare performance of a man haunted by his darker self. Laura Irish (Hera) steals every scene she occupies as the Queen of the Gods. Irish brings a chilling, glamorous malice and subtle vulnerability to Heracles' ultimate adversary, reframing their fraught relationship with sharp dramatic tension. Isabella Aarons (Megara) & Ivie Anderson (Maia) both provide the show’s emotional core. Aarons portrays Megara with tragic grace, while Anderson’s Maia offers a grounded, resonant perspective that prevents the mythic stakes from drifting into pure abstraction.
By swapping grand spectacle for intimate, loop-driven folk melodies, the production turns an ancient powerhouse into a surprisingly modern character study. Heracles: Of Men and Beasts is a sleek, inventive triumph—a powerful reminder that the monsters we fight outside are rarely as terrifying as the ones we harbour within.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Heracles: Of Men and Beasts runs at theSpace @ Niddry St - Upper Theatre until Saturday 29th August 2026. For tickets visit https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/heracles-of-men-and-beasts
Post a Comment