Review: RUNESICAL (YouTube)

 

Tickets: Free

Date: 29th September 2023

Seat: My Sofa

Rating: 4 Stars

We’re not gamers (is that even the right word?) in this family; we’re theatre nerds (as if that wasn’t obvious), so I’ll admit to being a little unsure when we sat down to watch RuneSical, a musical about the game RuneScape. There was no need to be anxious, and no need to be into computer games; Gigglemug’s fantastical and fun frolic through Gielinor to find the Mirror Dragon is a joyous and daft bit of entertainment that kept us hooked throughout, laughing out loud, gasping at one point (there’s a twist!), and just generally getting into the spirit of things from the comfort of the sofa. Wearing pyjamas. 

Because here’s the thing: as well as being a great musical in its own right, RuneSical is online, in its entirety, and you can watch the whole thing on YouTube any time you want – which I thoroughly recommend you do. 

In fact, you’ll want to watch RuneSical more than once because here’s the other thing: it’s a choose-your-own-adventure musical, evoking the game in a very literal sense. At the end of each short video, you’ll be presented with a choice – do this or that, pick this character or that one, you get the idea – and whichever you choose, that’s the story you’ll follow. From around 20 videos in total, you’ll get to watch seven, meaning there’s a plethora of other options you can try out. It’s clever, keeps you completely engaged, and gets you talking (not something I’d normally recommend in a theatre, but just go with it here – you are at home, after all). I watched with my 12-year-old, and we had some pretty fiery debates about which option to pick. Luckily, we made it through our quest relatively unscathed. 

A musical would be nothing without its songs, and the ones in RuneSical are jolly and toe-tapping, and fit just right with the action and world-building. The cast are actor-musicians for the most part, and with the aid of just a few instruments, there are some lovely ditties to enjoy that actually help move the narrative along – they’re not just there for fun. And I don’t think we even heard them all, thanks to the choices we made, so it’s definitely worth going back to check. 

The characters are familiar ones, ideal for this kind of story. There’s the wizard/dungeon master/wise man character (Sam Cochrane), the Freaky Troll (Alex Prescot who, along with Cochrane, wrote RuneSical), Lance_054 (Christian Maynard, and yes, the other 53 were taken), Pearl2008 (Jenna Sian O’Hara), and Odin (Katie Pritchard, who had one of the best songs in the whole show), along with a load of other NPCs (see, I’m learning – non-player characters for all the noobs out there) who are absolutely hilarious – Bob the Cat (Lydia Barton Lovett) was a highlight. 

If you’re looking for an hour or so of great entertainment that will cheer you right up and give you a bit of a surprise (the twist is ‘better than Mousetrap’ according to my 12-year-old, and I find it hard to disagree, to be fair), RuneSical is definitely the right choice to make. 

Gigglemug Theatre has triumphed with this show, bringing the idea of gaming into the world of theatre, making the whole thing interactive, and adding a fantastic score to move things along. Now I’m off to watch it again… 

If you fancy going on a quest with Lance_054 and the gang, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fhz5H0V2kw