Review of ‘Godz’: “Mortal show puts theatre lovers through Hades”

Following an exhaustive season around the fringe circuit, the Australian acrobatic show lands in the West End for one week only — blending physical performances, mythology, and comedy through an Ancient Greece-themed narrative. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show to let us know if this Herculean act turns out to be more of a Morpheus experience.

You’re perfectly aware of why you’ve come here. And why you will keep coming act after act. Sadly enough, quality theatre will never be the reason why. And if you ever return for a second run, it’s not because you appreciate the artistry (or absence of it) but because eye candy is too sugary a treat for you not to drool over again.

There’s virtually nothing else to value in the lackluster-looking, poorly executed, and massively disappointing excuse for a show that GODZ presents us with — which is currently celebrating its West End debut for this week only at the much versatile (no pun intended) Peacock Theatre. That is precisely one of its many, many problems. It may have docked in a main London venue, but the material is nowhere near what regular theatregoers (or at least, those with some minimal standards) are used to and hoping to see.

Everything about it is flawed — from its unimpressive numbers to its excruciatingly unfunny jokes. No matter how hard they try to force their humour on us, we can’t be arsed to open ourselves to it. It feels drained from the beginning, and it often comes across as bland, dysfunctional, and highly impotent. When over half of the work relies on comic reliefs to disguise the fact that their acrobatics are not that remarkable, ineffective jesting can only achieve the opposite — and by all means, it did this time.

None of the renditions are strong enough to win its audience over — let alone, accomplish any level of splendour or memorability. They all seem too easy, underdeveloped, and ultimately lazy. Its 4-member cast does flaunt some degree of technical ability. However, by the moment it starts to spark any interest, the performance is over — a pattern that keeps repeating itself over and over as our discontent towards the show keeps growing larger.

The writing is the final contributor to the piece’s demise. Besides the nonexistent wit in its lines, the script’s overall clumsiness prevents it from conveying any engagement. An acrobatic spectacle doesn’t require a strong narrative. It might not need one at all, for all we care. But if you decide to take the storytelling route and give the act an ancient Greek god endowment, at least play with it well enough.

The company constantly struggles to display any proper timing in their interpretations. If the gags do not land, neither do their portrayals — which are usually flat and deprived of any presence, charm, and, sometimes, even professionalism. There’s some rapport to grasp here and there. But eventually, it’s the overwhelmingly unrefined vibe of their performances that takes over.

Selling us a Dyonisian fantasy but resulting in a less than aphrodisiac delivery, GODZ steps away from the path to theatrical Olympus — concocting a show that’s very unlikely to have been visited by the Muses.Apart from its full-disclosure male nudity driver, something we’re not particularly short of around London town, finding a motive to visit it will be a far greater feat than stopping Zeus from fooling around.

Though their beauty is laudable, ripped bodies are not the type of muscles you need to create something worth seeing onstage. For as much as they pay tribute to Greek mythology, the only deity that seems to have answered their prayers is Chronos — and that’s from how many times I ended up checking my watch.

All pictures credit to Ben Stock.

Godz plays at London’s Peacock Theatre until 14 June. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara