Comedy company My Accomplice have tackled many genres over the years, and now their wandering eye – of Sauron – has turned upon the Fantasy realm to create The Seven Sons of Supparath. This one man show, performed by Paul Waggott, combines all of the genre’s biggest franchises into one epic in which Waggott transitions constantly between characters and places to present a weird, wild and hilarious show within this, the most noble and ridiculous of genres.

As a parody it is only natural that the story should feel somewhat familiar, and it does, with a band of adventurers setting out to collect seven items that when combined will conquer the ultimate evil. Despite the familiar charm of its premise, however, the story isn’t necessarily the show’s driving force. Often, in fact, the narrative can be buried by the number of references and the speed in which they fly at you.

Mostly, this is due to the characters themselves being parodies of characters from their respective franchises, rather than original characters representing specific tropes from the genre – as we have seen in past shows from My Accomplice. This is a double edged sword, as it does lead to some comedy gold, but it also causes the story to lose some of its importance and impetus.

Where the story does succeed is in how many opportunities it offers for jokes, gags and amazing physical performance. The show is full to the brim with all of the above, with a nice mix of general comedy and more pointed referential jokes and genre call-outs, meaning there is comedy to be had for genre fans and neewbies alike. The mix of different comedy stylings also helps to keep the show feeling consistently fresh and exciting, filling the hole left by the scattered narrative instead with a drive to see what form the next joke will take.

The jokes themselves are supremely clever in a wide array of ways, the wordplay being particularly sharp. The gags are ridiculous in the best possible way, with Waggott’s performance and physical style taking a simple idea and making it something you could happily watch for the whole hour. The most obvious example of this being his dancing – mesmerizing in its floppy elegance. 

Above all, Waggott’s performance is what makes this show the great piece of comedy it is. It is impressive watching three comedians tackle the high-speed intensity of a My Accomplice show, so seeing the same thing accomplished by one performer is nothing short of amazing. Waggott has a totally unique comedy style which when combined with his keen timing and physicality creates comedic magic. These skills are on clear display in The Seven Sons of Supparath, with Waggott chipping away at each joke and gag in the script as a master sculpture must take to marble – with clear intention and precise execution. Yet despite this mastery, his performance still has a goofy approachable charm which instantly puts you on his side.

Though this is a one man show, Waggott isn’t completely alone up there. Accompanying him are a wide range of voiceover, score and sound effects crafted by Oliver Devlin. All aspects of the sound design are of an incredibly high quality, with the sound effects in particular bringing the show to life in ways rarely possible in a black box theatre.

The Seven Sons of Supparath, though sometimes heavy on references and light on narrative, is a hilarious, exciting and superbly performed hour of theatre. Whether you are a Fantasy fan or not, there is comedy gold to be plundered by all in the Lonely Mountain that is The Seven Sons of Supparath – to the non-fans, that is a Hobbit reference FYI.

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