Sly Rat Theatre Co. Presents Andy Harmsen's 'The Martyrs' - REVIEW

Sly Rat Theatre Co.'s The Martyrs by Andy Harmsen - REVIEW I was fortunate to catch Sly Rat Theatre Co.’s debut production, The Martyrs last night at Revolt Artspace in Kensington. The Martyrs is a pitch-black comedy that tackles the conflict between Evangelical Ministries and the adult industry. It is a story ripped, quite literally, from the headlines. The play, written by Andy Harmsen, is made up of several story strands centred around an Evangelical Ministry who have taken a hard-line on the adult industry and decided to picket a large convention. Tightly wound into this kind of cliched framing device is a searing criticism of faith, censorship, liberalism and even the way different religious organisations have dealt with sex scandals. The script itself wields these themes like a kid that's found his dad's gun. Scene after scene builds on an intense web of lies, deceits, posturing and a sickening ultimate tragedy. It's also a comedy, funnily enough, and full to the brim of tortuous Larry David-esque awkwardness and constant gags verging on pantomime. It blurs the line between the grotesque and the strangely transcendental in a thick paste of tongue-in-cheek, dangerous wit. Visually, The Martyrs is a strange Frankenstein’s Monster of a play, stuck together with a strange mixture of genres and styles. There were echoes of Robert Wilson in many of director Alan Chambers’ choices. The production is staged in the dock at Revolt Artspace, a deep and foreboding space more reminiscent of a basement than a theatre. It's a thrilling and perplexing face before the characters even enter. The audience is treated to a strange soundtrack of what appears to be a chorus of vicious Evangelical pastors ranting away as we were lead to rows of Church pews. Ryan Hodge's lights and sound tie everything together in a hypnotic, brooding atmospheric wash. The glowing red crucifix at the back of the stage is a dead give away ... The performances were – for lack of a better word – as strange and beguiling as the mood mentioned above. Jeni Benzuidenhout, playing the tightly wound young wife, spat her lines with an awful darkness, juxtaposed by a virginal white nighty that glowed in the near darkness. The character's husband, played by Nathan Hitchens, haunts the stage with a foreboding presence. Though their dialogue clunks along with a kind of dark, threatening noirish ring, The Martyrs seems intent on betraying its lightness of touch promised by the shows promotional material. The rest of the ensemble match this intensity, though smashing through style and cliché, with equal aplomb. David Ryan Kinsman, as maniacal Youth Pastor Mike, dominates his scenes as a ridiculous copy & paste of the egotistic self-help guru. It is a hilarious and finely tuned effort that balances the stereotypical and the absurdly surprising. Same kudos go to Tristen Feihn as Mike's ever-suffering henchman, Troy. He is a groping man-child convinced of his own virtue. Fiehn's performance, once again, treads the fine line between cliché, three-dimensions and the strangely familiar. In fact, this might be the show's crowning achievement: amassing a cacophony of the familiar and tawdry and remaking it in its own messed up image. Marika Marosszeky, as an American adult screenwriter, exudes a sexy confidence that keeps everything treading an even keel with the recognisably human. It could have so easily have flown off the rails, and it does for fleeting moments, but the power, pace and speed of The Martyrs constantly surprises, frequently upsets and remains hilarious throughout its various whims and fancies. A quick shout out to the rest of the cast for their efforts; Nicole DiGrigorio LaBianca as the long suffering social worker and head-bird (anymore and that would be telling), Jennifer Piper as the upsetting and hilarious Chloe and Cameron Powell. Powell's skill-set will go unmentioned here as his reveal is a wonderful surprise. Sly Rat Theate Co's debut production is not perfect, but monsters very rarely are. Harmsen's script goes to brave, confronting and hilariously human levels to attack something very current. Chamber's direction drags it, kicking and screaming, into the fascinatingly theatric. The team have concocted something very alien; strangley familiar and yet shockingly new and hilarious. I was reminded of director Todd Solondz from time to time, but even this slight reference doesn't begin to describe this unnerving and strangely hilariously creative innovation at work here. Go into The Martyrs with an opinion about faith and let this striking ensemble disassemble you regardless of which side your beliefs fall on. The Martyrs brings art and politics together in a bold and fiercely entertaining way. I hope Sly Rat Theatre Co. continue to develop this attitude in future productions. 10th March, 2013