Mia (Amiera Darwish) is pregnant, to the best of her memory hasn’t slept with anyone in six months, and now the Arch Angel Gabriel is knocking on her door claiming her unborn child as the second coming. As though the shock of finding out that she has quite possibly been nonced by the big man isn’t enough: Satan also appears to claim her babe as the anti-Christ, her ex is hanging about the house calling her a whore, her best friend has a guilty conscience and a confession to make, and worst of all she’s slept with the biggest geek in the world: Gary Goodman.
Rekindle Theatre breathe new life into Oliver Lansley’s 2006 piece (originally premiered at the Gilded Balloon, Edinburgh) with a stand out performance by Laurie Brown as a campish Gabriel harbouring a temper, constantly finding himself on the defensive as he God’s apologist, at one point even getting chased around the room by a whip-brandishing Mia in a dominatrix outfit. Samuel Keefe and Simon Donaldson also pull out skilled contrasting performances as Gary Goodman and Lucifer respectively.
The kinetics of the piece flow excellently (director Bill Wright’s credit) creating a vivid atmosphere, characters sometimes miming in the background of scenes, at others unceremoniously shunted aside to watch agape by the more dauntless. Tastefully selected music fortifies key moments and we’re even treated to some lively choreography as the cast buffoonishly “show us what they got” to Destiny’s Child’s Bootlicious, one of many hilarious scenes. Another favourite is Rebecca (Saria Steyl) gushing out her narcissistic concern that her own dishonesty will lead inescapably to the loss of her best friend, Mia, and her new boyfriend, Michael, all in one fell swoop.
It’s not a perfect rendering. There are some awkward character dynamics, for example the relationship between Mia and her ex Michael, is more mother-to-spoilt-child than lover-to-ex-lover so any unresolved chemistry between them is hard to imagine, although they sink into it more as the play progresses. There is also a degree of overplaying, which could alternatively be countenanced as intrinsic to absurd nature of the melodrama depending on one’s taste for realism. The spirit of some cut scenes, in which the cast verse narrations in ominous unison while wearing spooky masks, takes some time to develop. At first we’re not sure whether it’s meant to be funny or serious (if funny: not demonstratively enough, if serious: downright cheesy) but the form soon establishes itself and grows on us.
Overall the production is extremely enjoyable and well received.
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