Tripod originally wanted to call this show Dungeons and Dragons: The Opera, and that’s as apt a description of Tripod versus the Dragon as you’re likely to get.
Stepping on stage to grandiose soundtrack, Tripod greet the audience and quickly fall into their established roles – the one who thinks he’s cool (Gatesy), the nerd (Scod) and the freaky nerd (Yon). They introduce their fourth member for this show, Elana Stone as their dungeon master and make some banter about character creation and throw in a couple of Dungeons and Dragons based jokes. The beginning to the show left me a little unsettled – I’ve been out of the Tripod loop for a few years, and something just seemed different – the characters seemed a bit forced, the banter a little lacklustre, and in general I just didn’t think the guys looked like they were having fun.
It is not until Elana Stone makes her transformation from dungeon master to the character of the dragon with her immensely powerful introductory song that everything begins to fall into place. This is no awkwardly forced Tripod show, this is bona fide musical theatre – it wasn’t that the guys weren’t having fun… they hadn’t started the show yet and were just getting the housework out of the way before getting into the show proper.
Once the story has begun, there boys step out of their Tripod characters and into their story characters, and while there may not seem to be much of a stretch between the two, the difference is marked. Gone is the fourth wall breaking and the awkwardness and suddenly it seems like the boys are really enjoying themselves as they revel in their stories and allow themselves to explore the musical ability that they’ve honed so well over their career. The songs are no longer funny ditties; they are powerful ballads that care more about plot development and emotional exploration than a few gags. There’s still an occasional comedic line or interjection, but the comedy plays second fiddle to the story that the boys want to tell.
Thankfully, the story is one worth exploring. Telling the tale of the fighter who wants to be a bard and his adventures to find his love alongside the story of a power-hungry wizard both destined for tragedy, Tripod create personalities and situations that the audience cannot help but care about. It’s easy to get drawn into this fantasy world and great fun to follow along through the absurdities that the boys create.
Special mention needs to go to the stage production on this show – it is absolutely divine. Using a massive white sheet, an overhead projector and another couple of backlights, Tripod create an entire world with shadow. Pretty much every thing that happened behind that sheet seemed like pure magic and the variety of techniques at work is astounding.
I came expecting a Tripod show of old with some funny songs and banter, but instead I found a rollicking good theatre show. Purely as a comedy show, the songs are too long and the punch-lines too few, but if you’re looking for an incredibly well staged and accessible musical theatre experience, Tripod have got you covered.
For full booking details go to the Melbourne Comedy Festival website