Hell Wolves and Shadow Hawkes

Hell Wolves and Shadow Hawks is a one act play set in a fantasy world full of goblins, elves and a whole variety of other magical beings. A Kidnapped Princess Olydia has been rescued by a team of mercenaries known as the Hell Wolves and, despite her excessive complaining, they are trying to return her to her kingdom so they can claim the reward. As they rest in a forest, they are visited by the mysterious dryad, Praxithea Wren, who seems helpful to their cause but her stay with them is short-lived. Unfortunately for the Hell Wolves, a rival gang known as the Shadow Hawks are waiting patiently to swoop in and steal their quarry and claim the rewards for themselves. But all is not as it seems and several twists and turns follow, leaving the audience wondering whether these two quarrelling foes can band together for the greater good.  

This piece was written and directed by Kei Bailey and he did a fantastic job, the roles were very well written, with enough backstory to make for well-rounded characters. The balance between drama and comedy was spot on.

Our first bands of misfits, the Hell Wolves, was led by Cassian Bloodbraid (Aaron Pettican), a supposed ladies’ man full of seemingly misplaced bravado. Aaron brought a lot of charm and swagger to this character and his stage presence was a perfect fit for this wannabe hero. His charisma and cheekiness were a real hit with the audience. The rest of the group consisted of Theodwin Snirgog, a wizard, Brizando Gammidge, a straight-talking dwarf and Lobo Chinmud, a half-goblin. Theodwin was played by David O’Brien who played the character with real warmth and humour. His diction and projection were excellent and he commanded the stage brilliantly. Callum Thomas played Brizando and he had the audience laughing along from the start. His deadpan delivery was superb and his comic timing was enviable. Callum Thursby performed the role of Lobo and his lack of social etiquette and suspect personal hygiene around the Princess provided many comical moments.

The Shadow Hawks were led by Quinnata Mortlock, an elf, delightfully played by Laura Griffin. She strutted around the stage with self-assured confidence and her scene where she first meets Cassian was a joy. Second in command was Dilwynn Merrybrew, a dwarf, performed by Jo Warrick who absolutely nailed the part for me, moving from the highly convincing psychotic need to kill anything and everything to the outrageous humour of her physical comedy. The final members of the gang were Maughtild Naxxremis, the sorceress (Colette Bunchanan-Grey), and Giffy Trolltoe, a half-gnome (Sue Fletcher).  Both these ladies proved themselves to be strong character actors with great stage presence and they delivered some very funny one-liners with relish.

The ensemble cast was completed by Rachel Rowett and Jules Jones. Rachel played Princess Olydia, our damsel in distress wonderfully and her facetious tone, sharp quips and sardonic facial expressions were hilarious.  Jules Jones’ dryad was light and airy and, as it progressed, the script allowed her to showcase her versatility as an actor.

The set for this piece was very simplistic but highly effective. Even on a warm May day, the flickering campfire, complete with crackling sound effects, lanterns scattered among the tree stumps and the way the stage was lit, gave you the feeling of being out in the cold gloomy woods. The use of an alternative version of modern music was a nice surprise that had the audience nodding along.

Costumes were excellent with such attention to detail. You could tell a lot of thought had gone into the costumes as each character had a uniquely different look, fitting for their characters race perfectly. Praxithea Wren’s costume, in particular, was fantastic, so much colour and detail went into making the character look like a magical woodland creature. The narative was enhanced by the skillful make-up by Katie Calo, from the dirtying up of the skin and clothing of the travelling characters and the delightful body make-up of leaves and flowers on Praxithea.

The venue was a nice space and there were a variety of refreshments available - I thought selling popcorn was a lovely bit of attention to detail as the evening was rounded off with a highly entertaining interval quiz and then we were treated to a showing of The Quest for Lord Quibble's Custard which was reviewed previously by Stuart Bull. All in all, a highly enjoyable evening and a performance all involved should be very proud of.

By Joanna Hobbs deputising for Stuart Bull

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