<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> <span class="mceItemObject" classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui> </span> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">North Country Theatre Artistic Director: <strong>Nobby Dimon</strong>&nbsp; <a href="http://www.northcountrytheatre.com/artdir.html "><span></span></a></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.northcountrytheatre.com/artdir.html ">http://www.northcountrytheatre.com/artdir.html</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">has directed yet another play which was absolutely <em>oar-</em>some.<span>&nbsp; </span>The matin&eacute;e production was staged, once again, at the Hutton Rudby Village Hall on Saturday 5 March 2011 at 2.30 pm.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">The last time I reported on a Nobby Dimon play, that was held in the same rural location, can be read here: <a href="blogs/entry/Home-on-the-Range">http://www.writelink.co.uk/community/blogs/entry/Home-on-the-Range</a>, only this time <em>Skallagrimson Keeps His Head</em> was specially commissioned by the Yorvik Viking Festival.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Before the play began Nobby asked the audience who had heard of the main character: Egil Skallagrimson. Perhaps ironically, few hands were raised as opposed to many being raised when asked who had heard of King Eric Bloodaxe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Whereas Egil Skallagrimson could be viewed as a mythological character, in Iceland he is still very much a folk hero and children there are still taught about him in school.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Egil&rsquo;s epic 10^th century Icelandic saga centres on the life of Egil Skallagrimson, an Icelandic farmer, Viking and skaldic poet.<span>&nbsp; </span>Here is an excellent link to learn more of the saga entitled: </span><span style="font-family: times; color: black; font-size: small;">Egil Skallagrimson and the Viking Ideal by Christina von Nolcken:</span><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777122294/">http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/1/777777122294/</a></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Nobby went on to claim that skaldic poetry is a bit like today&rsquo;s performance poetry as the tales passed on can be folksy, accompanied by music (see picture of six stringed liae) and images &ndash; the poets may even dress-up etc.<span>&nbsp; </span>The tales of war were probably passed on by rote for the bards to epically perform from the spoken word.<span>&nbsp; </span>The big difference is that poetry then was often referred to as Odin&rsquo;s Meade and for this culture, poetry and war went hand in hand.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">He further added that the strength in word-weaving often conjured up an image by linking words together such as: <em>swan-necked-ship</em>;<em> arrows feel like hail they say</em>;<em> bitter-battle-deed</em>; <em>shields were shattered in the fray</em>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">&ldquo;When the ice-fast fjord</span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Fractured into floes</span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">I went aboard</span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><em><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">my wooden whale-road rider&hellip;&rdquo;</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;">Overall, the play was a fast moving tongue-in-cheek version of Egil&rsquo;s epic Icelandic saga: a classic that proved to be an educationally informative and entertaining mix of murder, mayhem and mirth in equal measure.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p>