A Heroic if Indecisive Assault on ‘Grendel’

“Grendel,” presented by the Circle X company at the Open Fist Theatre, is based on John Gardner’s famously inverted novel, which retold the ancient English saga “Beowulf” as seen through the eyes of its mythical monster, Grendel. A heroic undertaking of appropriately epic proportions, the production is a noble failure that alternates between high drama and tedium.

Adapter Paul Mullins, whose “Louis Slotin Sonata” was one of Circle X’s most acclaimed productions to date, attempts the same kind of intellectual density and meta-theatrical whimsy in “Grendel,” with varying degrees of success. In the historically based “Slotin,” which concerned the fortunes of a real-life physicist fatally irradiated during a Los Alamos laboratory accident, Mullin superimposed the laws of physics as an operative metaphor, lending the drama acuity and focus.

“Grendel,” which has been directed by Jim Anzide, co-director of “Slotin,” lacks the same disciplining context. Rather than transmuting his philosophically prolix source material for the stage, Mullins winds up lost in Gardner’s labyrinthine verbiage. Instead of meta-theater, what results is a kind of anti-theater, with the actors functioning as alternating narrators in a glorified prose piece.

Pure dialogue sequences are rare. The characters tend to describe their actions as they perform them, rather than simply performing them. It’s an increasingly popular dramatic device, this passive, readers’ theater approach to adaptation. But in this case, at least, the dramatic tension suffers because of it.

Scenic designer Gary Smoot (also of “Sonata”) delivers a versatile set, although we could do without those fleshly protuberances on the periphery. Kenny Klimak’s sound design is essential to the overall ambience.

A gifted director, Anzide marshals his capable cast like a warlord girding for battle. The glue of the production, David Grammer exudes contemporary casualness as Grendel, while Helen Wilson’s comically flamboyant Dragon has a throaty voice that bespeaks centuries of fire-breathing.

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“Grendel,” Circle X at the Open Fist Theatre, 1652 N. La Brea Ave., L.A. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 and 8 p.m. Ends Sept. 22. $15. (323) 461-6069. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.