←Recommendations of EINAR'S RAGNAROK

More than any other Pantheon, the Norse gods have always had a unique penchant for buffoonery in their wanton violence. The Greeks are so dramatic they could never. Syran not only perfectly nails this tone, but deftly captures the turmoil and uncertainty of a people transitioning faiths. True or no, the stories we have, the ones told to us as children, the same ones we share and tell again as we age, they are what define us. A moving, beautiful exploration of cycles, beginnings and ends, family, and how everything is more or less Loki’s fault.

Nora Louise Syran provides an entertaining education of Norse mythology in EINAR'S RAGNOROK. Whether you're somewhat familiar with the gods and their tales or have no knowledge of them, you will certainly enjoy the craftmanship of Syran's story-telling. Cleverly using a time period and setting that bridges the pagan "then" to the Christian "now" at an Althing gathering in Iceland, the presentation of the mythology is woven into the fabric of the transition itself. Very well done. I would love to see this staged.

Over great periods of time old beliefs and customs are replaced with new ones. But to preserve the ancient stories, it often takes a poet to capture the essence of a time and its people. In this play, Einar is that poet, but in fact the true poet is playwright Nora Louise Syran. Here she lovingly weaves a tale of Norse mythology and Icelandic history to pass on to students, teachers, parents, or anyone else lucky enough to share in this experience. Entertainment and education in one beautiful package.

What a wonderful play for high schools to perform - or anyone, really, but as a show that can accommodate a large cast, with a story that's engaging and entertaining for the parents who will feel obligated to attend, this piece is a rare and special unicorn. I love all the mythology woven through and how storytelling is celebrated in this piece. What a special play.

We have the myth of the phoenix because we know fire does not simply destroy. It brings new life. Endings are terrifying and can harm as they go, but new creation will come. We consume tragedy because despite the end, we can begin again. Einar knows this, so he writes of Creation again.

This show is such a joyous ode to storytelling and theatre itself. I love shows where ensembles build scenes and creatures. How would lights and music, puppets and dance, chant and live body bring such a text to further life? I'd love to find out. High fun.

I would love to see this production stage! A wildly theatrical journey through the pantheon of Norse gods. A wonderful reminder that faith isn’t lost, it is replaced. And those things that we no longer have faith in are still a part of who we are even after accept the new belief.

EINAR'S RAGNAROK uses an ingenious frame of a present family crisis and a decision to be made to explore and explicate Norse and Icelandic mythology. At first, the names and settings are unfamiliar, but as it unfolds playwright Nora Louise Syran reveals the common ground that all lasting stories have, those essential family truths that connect us more than the alien nomenclature divides us. Its didactic qualities are perfectly disguised in an exciting, entertaining, and suspenseful package. I see a long future for this play.

A telling of Norse mythology that is magical and huge, with writing, staging, and ideas that carry the awesome force of the gods. We're given a view of the old tales through the perspective of characters who, in their own way, are in a world on the verge of calamity, making sense of it through story. The myths themselves are presented in a way that's a good introduction, while containing plenty of nods and lines that mythology fans are sure to recognize and appreciate.