Boar

Review by: Paul Towers, 25/10/19

Boar by Lewis Doherty

A co-production by Lewis Doherty, The North Wall and Nottingham Playhouse

Curve – 25 October 2019

“set in the incredibly imaginative world of Dungeons and Dragons”

Theatre is all about imagination, imagining a story before your very eyes. Belief has to be suspended and you should be drawn into the world that is being created. The very best theatrical story tellers can  perform this miracle without impressive scenery, without multiple costumes and without lots of props. Lewis Doherty is an up and coming exponent of this genre.

I was really impressed by Doherty’s show, Wolf, last week and didn’t  think he would be able to top it. But, by taking his material in a different direction he has topped it.

Boar is set in the incredibly imaginative world of Dungeons and Dragons and, yes, there are dragons and dungeons along with a multitude of characters all conjured up by a single actor, the very talented Lewis Doherty, on a bare stage with just a clever soundtrack and incredible lighting.

The story is the old old tale of a princess captured by a dragon and an aging king desperate for her to be rescued. However, maybe taking a little inspiration from Shrek, there are loads of incidental characters contributing to the narrative, many slotted in purely to raise a laugh. This production is huge fun with many laugh out loud moments and plenty of amazing sound/light/vocal effects.

I loved the way Doherty came full circle and referenced Wolf in the final minutes of the show.

This was a great way to spend 60 minutes escaping from a damp and dismal Friday night.

I am really looking forward to seeing what Lewis Doherty comes up with next.

Full details of future performances can be found on his website.

http://www.lewisdoherty.com

Curve – https://curveonline.co.uk
First published on Western Gazette