Wright&Grainger offer us their gods
As Wright&Grainger, best pals Al & Phil create wild retellings of Ancient Greek myths using music and spoken word. They return to Adelaide with the award-winning Orpheus and Eurydice, and debut show Selene. We asked them for their top ten gods. They overdelivered…
When our pals at The List asked us to come up with our top ten Greek gods, we tried our best. But we’ve got a heap of favourite gods that aren’t Ancient Greek, so we’ve gone with them instead. In our previous show The Gods The Gods The Gods, we talked about what happens when the ancient gods disband and disperse among all of us lot. The idea being that the gods retire and, while they’re not exactly normal, they’re a bit more normal. And once you start looking for them, you start to see them: those people with a twinkle in their eye, or those living a bit outside of the mainstream, or with something magic about them. So here’s some of our gods. Some you’ll know, some you won’t; there’s loads more but they only gave us so much space…
Wright&Grainger's Joint Gods
Mike Skinner / The Streets
An All Time God. We wouldn’t do what we do without growing up listening to The Streets. A master of the beauty in the pedestrian, of the remarkable in the ordinary. And also of being an absolute wildcard. Absolutely love him. Absolutely wouldn't wanna be him.
Otis Redding
The sheer soul in his art is astounding. How he knew all that, felt all that, expressed all that by the time he was 26 is impossible for a human. Listen to ‘Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay’ and think how he recorded that when he was 26, ten days before he died. He sang ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ aged 24!
Guy Garvey
Right, if you don’t know the British band Elbow then get them in your ears. Guy Garvey is either a god or an angel. He’s magic. His lyrics and his voice: come on! The most uplifting melancholy. Pure gruff beauty.
Joni Mitchell
I mean, enough said, surely. But… 100% god. 100% magic. 100% knows more about poetry and life and people than the rest of us. Also, arguably, she’s just pretty much come back to life, which is a pretty god-like move.
Alan Lane
Alan Lane runs a theatre company called Slung Low. During covid it became the biggest food bank in the UK cos they chose to tell the story that no one goes hungry. So no one did. He’s a force of nature and the world is better for him being in it.
Wright's Gods
Kae Tempest
I’ve spent years being in absolute awe of how Kae Tempest puts words together and how he draws from ancient stories and weaves them into the every day. My writing is peppered with so much stuff I’ve learnt and stolen from him. He’s channelling something in poetry, music and prose that changes you.
Zohran Mamdani
Because he wants to change the story of a whole city and give the story to the people in that city. And that is brilliant. And so often the story needs to change. And quite often, in stories, a god turns up right when you need them the most.
Grainger's Gods
Nigel Kennedy
A potential left field choice here. But he’s channeling something that no one else is and has done it all his own way. I watched him play his version of The Four Seasons live and he’s such a god. An oddball brilliant god. He’s a complete rebel and punk who happens to be one of the world’s best violin players. What a combo.
Nina Simone
Of the people this world is lucky to have encountered, Simone is at the top of that list. The level of soul she holds, the level of activism in her music, the link between people and art and community and politics: it’s huge. She was a force for good, a force for change, and her medium was music.
We have not one, but two Megans as part of the Wright&Grainger family this year. We’ve had the absolute pleasure of making our brand-new show Selene with Megan Drury (who performs it too) and we’re stoked to welcome Megan Shandley into Eurydice: they give us a god each.
Megan Drury's God
Francesca Albanese
A god who recognises the unjust international power dynamics in our human world and stoutly toils to keep our stories (the information we know, understand, pass on) and, therefore, our lives directed toward truth, equity and egalitarianism. As an artist, I aspire to this.
Megan Shandley's God
Mary Oliver
Poetry has always been a go-to comfort for me and when I read Mary Oliver’s poems, I’m always struck by her ability to reflect exactly how life feels in very specific moments. Almost like she’s peeking through a wee window into my soul. If that’s not god-behaviour, I don’t know what is!
Eurydice, Orpheus and Selene, all at The Courtyard Of Curiosities (State Library), see our website for full listings information.