Tripod Versus the Dragon

How did they come up with this? A brilliantly executed musical journey into the world of D&D - If you miss this then you are self abusing - Stop it and Watch it!

There are a handful of shows and movies I watched ever year. Tripod vs the Dragon is one of them.

One of my greatest regrets in life was having the opportunity to see this live (I've seen Tripod a few times) but I ended up not going because I was a scaredy cat who didn't want to go by myself xD

The pure joy and entertainment and beauty and madness. It's one of the those rare moments when the humour is less in the music and more in the acting. But that doesn't take away from it. No, instead we have mixed masterpieces of nostalgia and fun, as well as being wow'd

And shadow puppets/silhouettes only make a great thing greater.

Tripod vs the Dragon is, on one hand, something that you might think is a bit niche; a play - and it is a play, bordering on a musical - based on a game of Dungeons and Dragons doesn't indicate to anyone unfamiliar with the game to carry the genuine heart this play does.

Tripod hit a number of familiar beats throughout. Gatezy is sex obsessed and a bit dim; Scott is less savvy and a bit nerdy; Yon is weird and brilliant. The jokes aren't one dimensional, but if you don't find Tripod's usual schtik funny you're probably not going to here. But their formula is freshened by the inclusion of Alana Stone, who has one hell of a voice and provides another source of humour throughout.

The real key to this is the music, of course. Tripod cut their teeth on acappella, and so this piece unfolds with a wealth of background music, with either a piano, a guitar or simply other voices providing rhythm or choral arrangements. In some songs you'll get some trumpet or a solo singer, in others there's just voices providing the change. But there are a number of tunes that truly stand out; Ivory Tower is a mysterious haunting tune, foreshadowing the rest of the plot; I will still play is completely drops the humour of the rest of the piece, and is the most straightforward honest portrayal of the soul of an artist. There's genuine love of the subject in this, and the final two songs of the piece reflect real world emotion bound up in this play. Of course there's a few songs dedicated to humour, and they're great as well.

If they should ever tour this again or licence it out, I'd be there to see it with bells on.