More story-telling than theatre, the Beowulf of Felix Nobis at the Triskel abandons a formal framework in favour of a confiding, almost domestic, setting. Given the quality of modulation inherent in his voice, Nobis overrides the diminished scale. His rendition of this 8th-century tale of Scandinavian heroes, monsters and epic battles - the gore depicted as lovingly as the glory - emerges as a song of tribal triumph.
Using his own translation from the Old English which he seems to relish, Nobis is at home with the people whose world he has to re-create for his audience.
The stage environment is sparse, cold and incidental: the itinerant tale-teller has to use what props are to hand in impoverished but culturally hungry communities, and therefore the stories of ring-givers, of funeral pyres and blazing ships, of mighty halls and underwater combat all shine out in rich colours.
Thomas Conway's direction gives Nobis the freedom of the stage, although the timing for the closing moments needs to be adjusted; the textual resonances are lightly emphasised both by Paul Denby's lighting and the set design by Manon van der Klundert. But it's a pity that Triskel management can't either deter latecomers or else carpet the flooring to reduce the thumping impact of the search for seats - serious distractions in a production of such intensity.
Continues at the Triskel tonight (booking: 021-272022) and then goes to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from August 7th to 13th