Theatre N16 12 July – 5 August. Reviewed by Claire Roderick
Craft Theatre’s production of The God of Hell is a timely and provocative satire that will spark much debate. Sam Shepard’s “take off on Republican fascism” may have seemed over the top in 2005, now the laughs are tinged with the uneasy feeling that this sort of thing could well be possible from the present POTUS and his team.
Emma and Frank’s rural isolation in Wisconsin is broken when old friend Graig Haynes shows up. Hot on his radioactive trail is Welch, a government agent who will not rest until Haynes is found and taken back to a secret Colorado base. In Welch’s world, the government are in complete charge, with no checks and measures to prevent them doing whatever they like for the “good” of the US, whether the public like it or not. Hmmm…
Director Rocky Rodriguez Jr. has infused the short play with cartoonish humour, with Abigail Screen’s monochrome design adding to the surreal tone – kitchen appliances and furniture having a distinctly Flintstones vibe. The tension and sense of paranoia is ratcheted up in the first part of the play, with twitchy and volatile (literally) Haynes providing more questions than answers for the increasingly nervous Emma. The last scene, where details of horrific torture and programming are revealed – male audience members were squirming through their laughter – descends into sometimes bemusing surreal comedy, but the play ends on a satisfying note thanks to a wonderful performance from Helen Foster as Emma. This isn’t Shepard’s best play, with desperately unsubtle dialogue at times, but the sentiment is sincere and extremely relevant today.
Helen Foster makes Emma completely believable in the early part of the play, nailing the settled boredom and growing desperation of the farmer’s wife, and the accent. Craig Edgley is a hoot as Frank – dim and benign until he sells his beloved heifers, while Ryan Prescott is strong as Haynes. Thomas Throe does well as Welch, but this pivotal character is sometimes a little underwhelming for my tastes. If Rodriguez’s intent was to make him a bland everyman then he’s hit his mark, but for me, there was never enough smarmy patriotism as the flag salesman or cold-eyed fanaticism in the latter stages to match the tone of the other performances.
Craft Theatre’s take on The God of Hell is an amusing and interesting production that will certainly give you lots to think about – well worth a look.