Synopsis

DEATH comes to us all. When he came to Mort he offered him a job. But when Mort isleft in charge for an evening, he allows his heart to rule his head and soon the whole of causality and the future of the Discworld itself are at risk.

Along the way, Mort encounters not only DEATH'S adopted daughter, Ysalbell, woh has been 16 for 35 years - and his mysterious manservant Albert - whose cooking can harden an artery at ten paces - but also an incompetent wizard with a talking doorknocker and a beautiful, but rather bad tempered and dead, princess. He also, of course, meets DEATH, a 7ft scythe wielding skeleton, who is fond of cats, enjoys a good curry, and rides around the skies on a magnificent horse called... Binky!

Performance Details

Mort was performed at the Howell Centre Theatre (Brunel University) from 14th to 20th March 1997 and at the Compass Theatre on the 22nd March 1997.

Review

Le Nurb

"BAD (Meaning Good)"

"Mort"

"Brunel Alumni Drama"

"Having read and loved Pratchett's original novel, we were somewhat unsure as to how well the book's blend of surreal humour and barroom philosophy would translate to the stage.

Our fears proved somewhat less than groundless when it quickly became apparent that large chunks of the story had been dropped, altered and on one occasion (Mort's developing relationship with Princess Kell, a cornerstone of the story) ignored entirely only to be referred to in a later scene.

However, the clumsiness of the adaptation (which was, after all, nothing to do with B.A.D) could not detract from the exuberance of the cast or the precision of the direction. The setpieces (the summoning of Death, the assassination of King Olerve, the death of Goodie Hamstring) worked brilliantly, (until the fire alarm was set off ? about which more later) with the inevitably limited lighting and pyrotechnic effects used with tremendous imagination.

The leads all performed with sufficient enthusiasm and charisma to be excused the (very) occassional cock-up. Brett Alderton played Mort with just the right pitch of nervous awkwardness and desperate heroism. Justin Otto was, frankly, fantastic as Death, playing the part completely straight like he had no idea he was about to make us piss ourselves Sultry, luscious, pouting, etc, honours go to Bergit Peetz, the most gorgeous computer scientist we've ever seen and someone we feel there's definately a place for on the media team.

Oh yeah, the fire alarm. Set off by the pyrotechnics halfway through the second act, it could have spelt the end in very big letters. However, we were ushered round to the back of the Howell building where the cast valiantly continued on the little raised concrete affair which we shall now call the stage. Bereft of the sound and light effects which graced the earlier half of the production, the 'spirit of the blitz' type atmoshpere created nevertheless more than made up for the lack of pyrotechnics. The final wedding scene did, in fact, work much better with a crowd as opposed to an audience. Most amazingly of all NO-ONE LEFT, And if that isn't good enough reason to part with £2 and go and see it then we don't what is."