Theatre review: The Half God of Rainfall

Inua Ellams scored his biggest hit to date by keeping things very much down to earth for his Barber Shop Chronicles, but for his follow-up he returns to more mythical storytelling with a vengeance: The Half God of Rainfall mixes Greek and Nigerian mythology with the more modern deities of professional sports. Modupe (Rakie Ayola) was high priestess to a river goddess and under her protection, but the Yoruba gods end up in a war with the Olympians, seemingly for no other reason than the fact that they're gods, and fight is what gods do. The Greeks win and Modupe is claimed as one of Zeus' spoils; he impregnates her and her demigod son is a baby who causes floods when he cries. When he's older Demi (Kwami Odoom) makes it rain in a more metaphorical way, as a star basketball player whose talent begins to earn him adoring fans.

Being a demigod, Demi becomes more powerful with the attention, and both pantheons start to worry that their own levels of worship - and power - will suffer. Demi refuses to give up his sport despite dire warnings of what happens when you defy the gods.

Ellams' story was inspired by him coming up with the title in an earlier poem, and researching Zeus as the archetypal absent father for his demigod. Intended to be a lighter story, he found the character to be much more sinister than he remembered, and The Half God of Rainfall is an attempt by the playwright to view him without his own male privilege: To the women in the myths Zeus is just a rapist and abuser with a mile-wide vindictive streak. And it's a very successful attempt: Despite both the modern trappings and the Yoruba element he's created a new myth that feels authentically at home with the canon - albeit with a much-deserved coda Zeus never got in the originals.

Although Ayola and Odoom are credited as playing the central mother and son, in reality they're joint narrators in Nancy Medina's production that maintains a playfulness even as the story darkens. It's simply but creatively staged, and what appears to be a revolve as the centerpiece of Max Johns' set turns out to be something quite different, lending a memorable kind of fragile beauty to the closing moments.

It's a short and sharp evening that doesn't waste words, but does have time for some comic moments that make this world of ancient myths in a modern setting feel well-realised; memorably, the story of how demigods were banned from mortal sports after Michael Jordan literally flew on the basketball court and a lot of effort had to put into convincing the world they'd never seen it happen. Ayola and Odoom have an understated way of narrating and inhabiting the various characters that helps Ellams' high concept feel straightforward and creates a funny, moving evening.

The Half God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams is booking until the 17th of May at the Kiln Theatre.

Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Dan Tsantilis.