Beowulf - The Epic in Performance

Last night I attended a performance of Beowulf, sung in Old English and accompanied by an Anglo-Saxon harp, given by Benjamin Bagby at the British Library, in London. The event was a prelude to a new exhibition that opens this Friday.

The audience await the performance with eager anticipation.

I do not speak or read Old English, but fortunately subtitles were provided! However, that said, it was still wonderful to hear the poem being recited, for the language is so rich and expressive, and Beowulf was meant to be performed, and listened to, rather than read. The accompaniment on the harp also took it to another level altogether - with the instrument itself being used as a prop on occasion!

Mr Benjamin Bagby himself.

It was interested how much of the language I could understand, particularly when Benjamin used both his voice and actions to emphasise what was happening. There was both action and atmosphere in his performance, humour and heroic deeds, and the hour and a half passed in a flash*.

Benjamin's interpretation of the text has also given me some more ideas to try to include in Beowulf Beastslayer. The Kickstarter still has 12 days left to run and is currently 114% funded, meaning that the first Stretch Goal has been unlocked and the second is within sight.

* The performance ended with Grendel's death in the boiling pool. To recite the entire poem would take about five and a half hours!