Empire theatre, Sunderland – until Saturday 29 October 2022
Reviewed by Alexandra Sykes
5*****
Nothing makes a cold, wet October night better than a trip to the theatre, so seeing The Book of Mormon for the first time was an amazing night.
Funny from the word go, The Book of Mormon tells the story of how the Mormons were founded and how present day Mormons – Elder Price and Elder Cunningham (Robert Colvin and Conner Peirson) – were sent to Uganda to convert the locals, however Elder Price actually wanted to be sent to Orlando in Florida and Elder Cunningham is definitely the most unconventional Mormon going.
Joining the Elders on their religious journey are Elder McKinley (Jordan Lee Davies), the senior Mormon for District 9 in North Uganda who encourages the new additions to turn off any confusing feelings they may have, implying that he himself is gay. The local villagers, led by Mafala Hatimbi (Ewen Cummins) mostly ignore the Mormons as they are constantly under threat from local warlord General Butt F***ing Naked. Things start to look up for the Elders when local girl Nabulungi (Aviva Tulley) starts listening to Elder Cunningham, despite him mixing up the holy text and plot lines from various films he has seen. All’s well that ends well with the locals converting to Mormons and visiting other locals to try and convert them.
With catchy songs and a well used set, this musical is a brilliant night out that will leave you in stitches from laughing so much. A personal highlight was watching the Mormon Elders tap dance to Turn It Off, especially whilst wearing pink, sparkly waistcoats.
An absolutely brilliant night out full of laughs and singing along which will keep you smiling for days afterwards.