Wraith the roof with DramSoc

It’s been nearly eight years to the day since the final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy hit our screens - eight long years with little but over-sexed vampires and under-sexed boy wizards to fill the void. Clearly spotting an audience starved of orcs and elves, DramSoc’s latest productions takes the Dungeons and Dragons out of Beit basements and brings them to the stage.

Written and directed by Al Norman, Of Dice and Men takes a tongue-in-cheek look at role playing fantasy games. It centres on five friends, each of varying enthusiasm, and their in-game characters as they quest their way a game of Witches and Wyverns. With astute observations of life in both the real world and in fantasy, the play is suited to novices and level 3 Paladins alike. Encounters with a princess, who is more Miami than Mordor, and a frank chat with Phil the Wraith are the kind of thing that would probably have Tolkien turning in his grave. Equally, I imagine representatives of Deutsche Bank – the show’s sponsors – may find themselves squirming in their seats as the goblins bicker over maximizing teamwork and leadership skills.

Despite its two-hour duration, ODAM maintains its freshness by hopping between Terramundus and the Bowmans’ house. Brothers Evan and Drake (played with aplomb by Luke Bullard and Ranulf Kinloch-Jones) clash as the former tries to introduce his girlfriend Kate (the tireless Camilla Nicholson) to the game, much to the disgust of character-hat-wearing die-hard player Drake. Sarah Brand brings a deadpan tone to her role as lesbian witch Ivy and Hassan Choudhury completes the band with a modicum of sanity, playing game master Simon.

Over in the Western Realm, things are more farcical still. James Goodchild struts the stage scantily-clad as Conan-lookalike Teflon, combining dopey delivery with deft comic timing. In the closest thing I could find to a similarity with the Steinbeck novel from which the play takes its name, Omar Fahmy brings shades of Lenny to his role of the orc poet, Urg, contrasted by the flesh-hungry energy of Zoe Pierre as Gaboosa. Miztli Cardena Neville, as Areya, adds the finishing touch, maintaining a grave voice of reason in the face of the hapless fellowship.

The specials effects are innovative to say the least and give _ODAM _an unpretentious charm, best exemplified when a climactic fight scene is paused as Mrs. Bowman hands out Ribenas. The script, whilst a little long, is well written, with echoes of Monty Python’s Holy Grail as well as moments of real original comedy. DramSoc is clearly alive and w ell at Imperial, and most important of all, it’s got a good sense of humour.

Of Dice and Men plays tonight and tomorrow, Union Concert Hall, £5 in advance for students, £7 otherwise.