Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Jacob Easton enjoys a reprisal of James Rowland’s funny and extraordinary play
How do you mark ten years of a story that was never really supposed to last beyond a small room at the Edinburgh Fringe? If you’re James Rowland, you tell it again.
For one night only, Team Viking returned to the stage, a decade after its original run. The intervening years have seen the show collect glowing reviews, international tours and an almost mythical reputation amongst those lucky enough to have seen it. Yet stripped of all that history, what remains is surprisingly simple: one man, a microphone, a looping pedal and a story.
The one-person play centres upon three childhood friends — James, Tom and Sarah — whose shared obsession with the Vikings becomes the foundation of a friendship that survives adolescence, adulthood and eventually unimaginable loss. When Tom receives a devastating diagnosis, a promise was made. What followed was funny, improbable and increasingly extraordinary.
The brilliance of Team Viking lay in how casually Rowland delivered it all. The show never felt performed so much as shared, while being built on confidence rather than spectacle. It was an example of just how powerful storytelling can be when placed in the right hands.
Ten years on, Team Viking remains exactly what great storytelling should be: hilarious, devastating and deeply human. The fact this revival was a one-off only made its return feel more special.
