{"data":{"id":"be99df06-4316-4d73-a667-11c630e1dc59","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Fringe Review: Marvel be damned in Norse legend-accurate Thor’s a Dick","summary":"Thor’s a Dick — Viking Legends Not for Kids\n\n3.5 out of 5\n\nStage 10, Strathcona Library, 8331 104 St.\n\nA well-performed if slightly draggy traipse through Norse mythology, British storyteller Eden Ballantyne returns to shake up Yggdrasil and dispel some of the ideas of the European north.\n\nOne of these, for starters: “There has never been a group of people who call themselves vikings!” after which he promptly tore off his boiling wool overshirt, continuing, “Viking is something they did — piracy!”\n\nThat out of the way, he spent the middle part of the show unravelling the damage Marvel (and Hollywood with its horned helms) has done to Norse mythology, though to be fair, the relationships between Odin and Thor and Loki were occasionally a little fluid — but the latter two were never brothers, about to fight Doctor Doom or not.\n\nIn the style of Neil Gaiman’s great book on the subject with pointed asides, Ballantyne takes us through a few stories where Thor is mostly an insatiable glutton and somewhat random crusher of skulls, which other people have to clean up.\n\nOne engaging story to show you there’s really no good guys deals with the gods being rather terrible to a master builder come to build a fortification wall around Asgard, making big demands, including Freyja to become his bride. Oh, plus the sun and the moon.\n\nBallantyne gets into it about Loki’s fluidity and the double meaning of the “Men from Hebrides” before getting into some Underworld adventures and, of course, the doom of Ragnarok.\n\nSome more of those sweet shadow puppets would have been nice, but overall a pretty good (and bloody) ride on the goat-driven chariot over the Rainbow Bridge.\n\nfgriwkowsky@postmedia.com\n\nBookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.\n\nYou can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/theatre/fringe-review-marvel-be-damned-in-norse-legend-accurate-thors-a-dick","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/thor-s-a-dick_304763223.jpg","publishedAt":"2026-08-18T20:55:33.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Entertainment","Festivals","Theatre"],"authorName":"Fish Griwkowsky","contentHtml":"<img alt=\"Thor's a Dick!, at the 2026 Edmonton Fringe Festival.\" src=\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/thor-s-a-dick_304763223.jpg\" title=\"Thor's a Dick!, at the 2026 Edmonton Fringe Festival.\" /><p> <strong>Thor’s a Dick — Viking Legends Not for Kids</strong> </p><p> <strong>3.5 out of 5</strong> </p><p> <strong>Stage 10, Strathcona Library, 8331 104 St.</strong> </p><p> A well-performed if slightly draggy traipse through Norse mythology, British storyteller Eden Ballantyne returns to shake up Yggdrasil and dispel some of the ideas of the European north. </p><p> One of these, for starters: “There has never been a group of people who call themselves vikings!” after which he promptly tore off his boiling wool overshirt, continuing, “Viking is something they did — piracy!” </p><p> That out of the way, he spent the middle part of the show unravelling the damage Marvel (and Hollywood with its horned helms) has done to Norse mythology, though to be fair, the relationships between Odin and Thor and Loki were occasionally a little fluid — but the latter two were never brothers, about to fight Doctor Doom or not. </p><p> In the style of Neil Gaiman’s great book on the subject with pointed asides, Ballantyne takes us through a few stories where Thor is mostly an insatiable glutton and somewhat random crusher of skulls, which other people have to clean up. </p><p> One engaging story to show you there’s really no good guys deals with the gods being rather terrible to a master builder come to build a fortification wall around Asgard, making big demands, including Freyja to become his bride. Oh, plus the sun and the moon. </p><p> Ballantyne gets into it about Loki’s fluidity and the double meaning of the “Men from Hebrides” before getting into some Underworld adventures and, of course, the doom of Ragnarok. </p><p> Some more of those sweet shadow puppets would have been nice, but overall a pretty good (and bloody) ride on the goat-driven chariot over the Rainbow Bridge. </p><p> <a href=\"mailto:fgriwkowsky@postmedia.com\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">fgriwkowsky@postmedia.com </a> </p><p> <strong>Bookmark our website and support our journalism:</strong><em>Don’t miss the news you need to know — add <a href=\"http://edmontonjournal.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EdmontonJournal.com</a> and <a href=\"http://edmontonsun.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">EdmontonSun.com</a> to your bookmarks and <a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/newsletters/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">sign up for our newsletters here.</a></em> </p><p> <em>You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: <a href=\"https://edmontonjournal.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Edmonton Journal</a> | <a href=\"https://edmontonsun.com/subscribe/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">The Edmonton Sun.</a></em> </p>","slug":"fringe-review-marvel-be-damned-in-norse-legend-accurate-thors-a-dick","publicPath":"/news/2026-08-18-fringe-review-marvel-be-damned-in-norse-legend-accurate-thors-a-dick"}}