Burning Down The Horse – Pleasance Dome, Queen Dome

If you haven’t heard of the Trojan Horse before then this will be an eye opening and hilarious introduction. As Greek leader Odysseus leads his men (and in this case women too) to war in a giant wooden horse the soldiers are starting to have second thoughts about how safe their plan is. They are also beginning to have doubts about their leader. Will the attack go to plan or is there a fair few limitations to storming a city in a giant flammable wooden horse?

Fishing4Chips have put together a brilliantly well-rounded historical comedy centering around the famous Greek mythology. This highly immersive show is sure to make you laugh as well as to incite the “power of the people” into you. We as an audience are the soldiers, we are being marched to battle and we are being yelled at to stay in line. When the ridiculousness of a plan to storm a city in a giant duck like horse is brought up by Anticlus (Kathryn Pridgeon), we start to see the confidence of our leader Odysseus (Freddie Walker) crack and the delusions of a true unhinged figure of power show. If anyone wants to make it out of this horse alive an uprising is in order and Odysseus will not be a happy bunny.

The cast work together so incredibly well, bouncing off of one another to find that perfect balance of humour and story lead drive. Each odd ball character leaves their mark on the audience. We have: Acamus (Molly Keogh) the loyal 2^nd in charge who struggles to accept that they are under appreciated and replaceable, AJAX (Alistair Rowley) the beefy warrior with a secret, Epeius (Conor Joseph) a carpenter who just wants to leave, Echeon (Sean Wareing) the comedic relief without a single logical thought, Anticulus who refuses to take any nonsense and of course Odysseus himself who is loud proud and easy to dislike (I’m sorry EPIC fans).

The writing is fast paced, gets to the point quickly and very witty. Jokes are placed throughout; many of which a basic knowledge of Greek mythology and history may be useful for however there is humour suited to all, so it doesn’t matter so much if you don’t have any background knowledge. Every character gets their moment and tension is built but never overdone.  There is also a sprinkling of meaning full messages about how we see of selves and those above us.

This show is a fantastic edition to anyone’s fringe’s fringe programme, although be warned Odyssey fans the play does stray a little from the original material. This is a heavy audience participation show so be prepared to step up and have fun. Overall, the show is brilliant, the cast are a superb and the use of space is perfect for its venue, you won’t find a single bad seat.

Burning Down The Horse performs from 1st-25th (excluding 13^th) of August at Pleasance Dome Queen Dome 13:00. Tickets are available at Burning Down the Horse | Theatre | Edinburgh Festival Fringe (edfringe.com)

Reviewer: Beth Eltringham

Reviewed: 1st August 2024

North West End UK Rating: