THEATRE
Written by Aleshea Harris, by Melbourne Theatre Company & Sydney Theatre Company
At Southbank Theatre, Sumner, until 15 July 2023
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 8 July 2023. KH
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| Henrietta Enyonam Amevor, Cessalee Stovall, Masego Pitso-photoPiaJohnson |
There is horror in this house – well, in two houses, actually – in Is God Is, the award-winning play by African-American playwright, Aleshea Harris.
Twin sisters, Anaia (Henrietta Enyonam Amevor) and Racine (Masego Pitso), lived in Southern USA in cruel foster care after their brutal father intentionally set fire to their mother (Cessalee Stovall) and caused horrific injuries to the toddler twins. The two believe their mother, who they call God, died that day until, 18 years later, she summons them to a nursing home where she lies dying, and sends them on an epic quest to wreak vengeance on their father (Kevin Copeland).
Following God’s instructions, Anaia and Racine go first to LA to interrogate their father’s former lawyer, the drunkard, Chuck Hall (Patrick Williams), then travel to a northern state where they find their father’s current wife (Clare Chihambakwe) and 17-year-old twin sons, Riley (Grant Young) and Scotch (Darius Williams).
The tall Amevor and pocket-sized Pitso make eccentric, clearly non-identical twins and effectively create an intimate and symbiotic relationship between these damaged sisters. Amevor brings an awkward, lovable and fragile quality to the more sensitive Anaia, while Pitso is a firecracker as the bolder, more violent Racine.
The violence the pair perpetrates is stylised and abstracted – no blood here, fake or real – but the sense of menace and horror is palpable. Meeting both of the twins’ alarming parents explains some of Anaia and Racine’s dysfunction and their escalating trail of carnage.
Harris’s play, co-directed by Zindzi Okenyo and Shari Sebbens, has echoes of Greek tragedies and ironic tilts at cowboy movies. Her writing incorporates self-narration for many characters that sounds like complex stage directions combined with character back story, and her dialogue crackles with Southern US idiom, and a rhythmic, repetitive poetic style a little reminiscent of the Beat poets.
The ingenious set design (Renée Mulder) is like another character, with a plywood house that the actors manipulate by opening doors, panels, windows and shutters to change locations.
The opening scenes are compelling, from our first encounter with the sisters with their scarred bodies – represented by tattoo-like designs on their skin-coloured costumes (Mulder) – to the almost religious revelation of their mother, surrounded by candles, propped upright in a bed with tubes keeping her alive. Stovall’s performance as the formidable mother is disturbing, edgy, sometimes comical and always vocally dexterous.
However, in the latter half of this production, the direction lacks the balance of the early scenes, there are some awkward scene changes and some of the stylised violence feels contrived.
Is God Is challenges the audience with its style and content and is definitely a play that reflects its origins in America.
by Kate Herbert
Cast
Anaia Henrietta Enyonam
Amevor
Angie Clare Chihambakwe
Man Kevin Copeland
Racine Masego Pitso
She Cessalee Stovall
Scotch Darius Williams
Chuck Hall Patrick Williams
Riley Grant Young
Creative Team
Co-Director Zindzi Okenyo
Co-Director Shari Sebbens
Set & Costume Designer Renée Mulder
Lighting Designer Jenny Hector
Composer & Sound Designer Joe Paradise Lui
Intimacy Coordinator Amy Cater
Fight Choreographer Lyndall Grant
Assistant Director Kuda Mapeza
Community Engagement Lead Effie Nkrumah
Community Engagement Team Member Lydia Tesema
Community Engagement Team Member Noah Da Costa
Voice Coach Lisa Dallinger
Accent Coach Amani Dorn
Accent Coach Rachel Finley
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| Henrietta Enyonam Amevor, Masego Pitso-photoPiaJohnson |
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