ComedyDramaLondonReview

Conversion – The Lion & Unicorn Theatre, London

Reviewer: Jane Darcy

Writer: Marco Biasioli

Director: Liam Grogan

Precarious Theatre’s new show, Conversion, is fast and funny, boldly reimagining an unfamiliar period of English history. Playing to a packed house, the cast of six works very well together as an ensemble, while each gives a strongly individual performance.

It may not sound a promising premise for comedy, but somehow it works. St Augustine, as he then wasn’t, is ordered to sixth-century England by the Pope to convert the people. But unknown to Rome, Christianity, or a version of it, has already arrived and the peasants are following a robust if wrong-headed version of it. A group of them are happily maypole-dancing around a beribboned crucifix when Augustine arrives. Apparently, their Bishop has insisted on regular crucifixion for misdemeanours, as well as on ever-increasing taxes. Meanwhile, this Bishop, his venal character sharply conveyed by Ross Stephenson, is lining his own pockets, planning on installing underfloor heating.

Augustine takes his mission seriously. David Allen gives a lovely performance of the thoughtful, troubled man, determined to tackle this corrupt English bishop and bring enlightenment to the country. He finds an unlikely ally in Esma, likeably played by Francesca Maria Izzo. Esma is an articulate, principled local, determined to fight for people’s rights. Another strong female character is Amice, played by Carolyn McCallion.

The Bishop has a sidekick too – the bespectacled Computans, too awed by the Bishop to call out his faults. Benjamin Sumrie is magnificent both as the craven Computans and as the King. The King is craven in a different way, scared of his powerful wife, the Queen. He reminds you of Matthew Mcfadyen in Succession, his facial features betraying the effort he’s making to formulate even the simplest thought. Tilly Woof is fabulous as the Queen, saucily seducing men in front of her husband. Yet the scene in which she tries it on with Augustine has a strange power to move. We believe in his moral virtue – we don’t want him to fail now.

For the most part, Conversion is snappily directed by Liam Grogan, but there are scenes which go on slightly too long and the energy flags. There are funny hats and all sorts of slapstick, but the real humour has depth, rooted in serious ideas about what is, in effect, political vision. There are inevitable echoes of other comedies – an occasional borrowing from Monty Python’s Life of Brian, for instance – but Precarious Theatre is developing a distinctive comic voice of its own.

Reviewed on 17 July 2024

Fast and funny

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