'The Martyrs' by Andy Harmsen

'The Martyrs' is an absurd, pitch-black comedy about the violent collision of faith and sexuality. A large Adult Convention has just rolled into Melbourne and a local Mega-church ministry, ‘Earthquakers’, has taken to the streets to denounce the evils of pornography. A charismatic youth pastor, Mike Foster, is on the case. He’s hitting television talk shows, the internet and the pulpit with a force that the media are calling a ‘Crusade’ on smut. All is not well at ‘Earthquakers’, though. The wife of one of their most loyal parishioners, Sarah Wickham, is struggling to cope with the discovery of illicit Polaroids in her basement. Her husband, Harry, hides a deeper secret that threatens to bring the ministry to its knees. They need help and Mike is the only one that can save their marriage from the abject terror of thinking sexy thoughts. In the meantime a teenage boy called Charlie struggles with an erection. The problem is the nasty swelling just won’t go away. His mum thinks it’s because he’s addicted to porn, but it gets paler and the pain gets worse every day. Utilising a diverse range of theatrical styles, puppetry and a thumping soundtrack, The Martyrs is the violent collision between corporate faith and secularism, child abuse and disavowal and the sometimes hysterical way we try to negotiate our often tortured relationship with faith and sexuality.