Music and lyrics: Brian Mitchell
Writer: Philip Reeve
Performers: The Foundry Group
A jolly, 1920s-based romp through the important philosophical questions of where the universe came from, whether God exists, and whether He approves of a full English breakfast.
The tone is firmly set as we enter the Lionhouse – an outdoor theatre space set up in the back garden of a Hanover terrace. We are directed to the bar (a trestle table, a mishmash of beers, and a stack of plastic goblets) and then to the equally mishmashed rows of seats, where our concerned host offers sun cream around the audience. Sitting there in a deckchair in the sunshine, we feel rather less like theatregoers and more like excited children at a picnic.
The feeling does not diminish as the play starts. A host of angels sing us into Heaven with a jaunty Charleston-type number, complete with homemade wings and a glittering backdrop that the Archangel Gabriel struggles to hold down as the wind blows it around (and the players of The Foundry Group will continue to wrestle with this piece of set throughout).
The true delight comes when God (Murray Simon) enters stage left sporting a monocle, a silk dressing gown, and a smarting hangover. The depiction of Heaven as a place full of cheerful, dancing angels and the image of the Almighty Creator as nothing more complicated than a bumbling, 1920s fop is so innocent and sweet that we cannot help but be enamoured by it. The music and lyrics handle the potentially heavy topics of religion gently. The argument of Atheism versus faith becomes a witty back-and-forth over dinner, and our lonely God’s solo ballad is more concerned by a rocky holiday romance than by the question of his own existence.
Everything is so light-hearted that, in places, the plot does run a little thin. The characters are fairly superficial caricatures who leap through the narrative, largely unbothered by anything that happens. Our leading lady, ‘Minty’ (Emma Wingrove) in particular, while well-played by Wingrove, sees her whole academic career fall apart, a dramatic change in faith, and more than one shocking revelation regarding her current fiancée, yet takes it all without even a whiff of an existential crisis. The tone is so cheerful that the characters seem to border on brainless in parts and some of the songs are a little inane – multiple verses dedicated, for example, to an uncomfortable chair that is barely mentioned again, and to a vegetarian breakfast. However, it is all performed in great humour and with infectious smiles from the players who are clearly having a blast.
While a little flippant with its characters and songs in places, Lord God takes us for a joyous romp through Heaven, Hell, and everything in between.
Runs until 21 May 2023
