Adapted by Stephen Briggs

Directed by Jonathan Whiteside

A kingdom without a King is a city rife for the taking, one of vice and little virtue. Or maybe it’s one benefitting from democracy without tyranny? Either way, the Supreme Grandmaster of the Unique and Supreme Lodge of the Elucidated Brethren of the Ebon Night intends to take control of the city of Ankh-Morpork by installing a puppet figurehead. And nothing demonstrates to witless peasants the sudden divine righteousness of royalty than slaying a dragon. Now, if only we could find one.

Conjuring eccentricities, sorcery, assassins, the reaper himself, and yes, a dragon or two, Strawmoddie bring the wonderful land of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld to life. Three years later than intended, Guards! Guards! Is the Edinburgh grassroots foray into Pratchett’s world as part of this year’s Cymera Festival, and what a show to wait for.

The uninitiated to Pratchett’s legendary characters and deft humour will quickly settle into the absurdity of it all – the peculiar creatures we encounter, the upside-down logic, and the stark political lampooning. But with so much in the way of jokes, side stories, betrayals and secret organisation – where does our tale begin? Well, it starts how all good stories do – with an armchair by the fire and a welcoming narrator taking up their first word.

Or rather, a good Footnote – Stephen Brigg draws in Pratchett’s penchant for footnotes and addendums and manifests them into a character, here portrayed by The Green Knight’s Debbie Cannon with a strong elegance, comfort, and the occasional wry smile at the ludicrous nature of the script. Cannon begins our tale with a rather tall dwarf, revealed to be Carrot, soon to be Lance Constable of the city watch, after finding out he was adopted.

Bringing naivety and wonder to the role is Alex Card. Carrot is unfamiliar with idioms and sarcastic remarks, leading to sharp moments of comedy – and a rather killer finale. A key part of the ensemble-lead performance, Card acts as a strong performer to bounce off with, particularly along with Rebecca Amos’ Corporal Nobby Nobbs, a guard with a thick skull, but a killer sense of humour with some excellent delivery from Amos.

They fall under the command of Captain Samuel Vimes, played by Chris Alan. A no-nonsense captain of the guard, who struggles with the idea of an invading dragon, and has fallen into the habit of ensuring an easy job and not always spotting the criminals at first. Alan makes for a strong lead, and though initially different than the book’s version of Vimes, captures the intentions and motivations of the role in spades.

Any regular visitor to the Dicsworld will have experience with Stephen Brigg’s adaptations already, having turned twenty of Pratchett’s adventures into stage versions for theatre producers. And while director Jonathan Whiteside’s Guards! Guards! is an excellent avenue into the realm of Pratchett’s work, the stage incarnation does have a few scenes which could be trimmed to aid the runtime. Brigg maintains a dignified respect for the source material, Pratchett’s adoration of the small, insignificant lives of many a character, in this case, the residents of Ankh-Morpork, are often afforded humorous cutaways from the main story. They’re not necessary here, with so much plot and character leaping around the Pleasance Theatre, but Strawmoddie does well to limit these moments and ensure the comedic momentum continues.

Whiteside knows where to allow performers to push for the laughs, Amos, Caird, and an energetic and projecting Hilary Davies all benefiting from the direction, while the always humorous and tremendous presence of Ben Blow is a bonus to any scene as either Lady Sybil Ramkin or providing a rather special voice-over. But Whiteside takes to the stage just as well, taking up the mantle of the grounded Patrician of the city – a slicker, more nuanced part which contains one of Pratchett’s more direct, less metaphorical, stabs at morality and the presence of evil.

But just how do you manifest a 60-foot dragon inside the Pleasance Theatre? Well, a touch of imagination goes a long way when benefitting from Em Leites McPherson’s lighting design, which floods the audience with a rippling gold and crimson to stoke the flames of the beast, while sound design from David Marsland is hugely complimentary of Gregor Dickie’s splendid take on the Dragon – bringing the poise and nefariousness to fantasy’s legacy creature. Not done with imparting life into the unseen, Dickie also takes a turn monkeying around as The Librarian of the Unseen University, turned into an orangutan, resulting in an entirely hilarious game of charades with Caird’s Carrot to communicate.

There’s a prominent appreciation of Pratchett in every asset of the production – from its set and prop design to the costume and performances. As much a parody as a love letter to fantasy tales, Guards! Guards! spins a gripping saga from the lives of the side characters, channelling the dragon fodder and one-time rogues from centuries of tales into a wonderfully energetic performance of wit and magic. Their first dip into the Discworld has been a riotous success and given the cameo appearances from the Discworld’s favourite residence, it’s safe to say we are more than hopeful for their festival return to the world.