The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a deeply satisfying theatrical meal
By Stephen Adly Guirgis. Directed by Stephen Drover. A Pound of Flesh Theatre production, in association with Pacific Theatre and Neworld Theatre. Presented by the Cultch and Rumble Productions’ Tremors Festival. At the Cultch’s Historic Theatre on Thursday, April 12. Continues until April 21
Director Stephen Drover’s production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a deeply satisfying theatrical meal.
For all of its salty language—Saint Monica refers to her son, Saint Augustine, as a former whore-banging “mothahfuckah”—the printed script struck me as dry. A judge in purgatory agrees to hear the case of Judas, who committed suicide after betraying Christ and is now a resident of hell. But should he be there? If God is as loving as his publicists claim, why doesn’t he forgive Judas, who, after all, simply carried out God’s plan? Figures including Mother Teresa, Sigmund Freud, and Satan are all called—or conjured—to testify. They debate notions of compassion and free will with Judas’s lawyer and the prosecutor.
This could all feel abstract, but Drover and his cast find the bleeding humanity in almost every moment. At the centre of the evening is the question of whether or not we condemn ourselves to hell by refusing love—and who can’t relate to that?
Drover has cast superbly, and his actors are having such a good time that, sitting in the audience, you get a contact high. Dawn Petten’s Mother Teresa is part wicked parody—a self-satisfied Albanian gnome who munches on a Kit Kat bar and tosses away the wrapper—and part wise woman; even as she condemns abortion, you can’t help but be swayed by the depth of her conviction. Carl Kennedy, who knocked Vancouver’s collective socks of last season in Jesus Hopped the “A” Train, flashes with charisma as the streetwise revolutionary Simon the Zealot. And Michael Kopsa is nastily seductive as the Prince of Darkness. Especially when he’s called upon to cross-examine Satan, Marcus Youssef, who plays the butt-licking prosecutor El-Fayoumy, is hilarious. And Katharine Venour shines as Cunningham, Judas’s lawyer; the straight woman of the piece, Cunningham is the most difficult role in the script, but Venour keeps the character philosophically hungry and, in one of the most moving passages, makes her bereft.
There’s terrific work all over the place from a cast that also includes Marci T. House, Kyle Jespersen, Kevin McNulty, Ron Reed, Adrienne Wong, and Beatrice Zeilinger.
I’ve only got a couple of quibbles. I found Anthony F. Ingram’s Freud, who opens the second act, flat; yes, the character is self-satisfied as written, but, in performance, simply repeating that note gets stale. And even though Bob Frazer (Judas) and Todd Thomson (Jesus) both contribute hugely openhearted performances, their Act 2 confrontation felt poorly modulated the night I saw it: too much big emotion led to insufficiently differentiated meaning. (It’s a luxury to be able make such fine distinctions.)
Drew Facey’s battered warehouse of a set is perfect for purgatory, and Itai Erdal’s lighting is subtle and moody.
This show is part of Rumble Productions’ Tremors Festival, which features work by emerging companies. It’s great to see Pound of Flesh Theatre and all of its producing partners mount a large-scale production that would be at home on any of Vancouver’s major stages.
Comments
6 Comments
angry theatre consumer
Apr 16, 2012 at 11:26am
I saw the play on Colin Thomas' recommendation. He didn't mention: overacting, hackneyed stereotypes, (especially racist ones, like El-Fayoumi and Saint Monica), muddled philosophy, and simply a crappy script. Is this what theatre in the periphery means--blind reviewers recommending crap?
another angry theatre consumer
Apr 16, 2012 at 2:21pm
Where to begin? I thought the acting was inspired, but I found the violent, degrading language used to describe women absolutely disgusting. The f-bomb is nothing, but the use of words like hooker, whore, dried up c*** are absolutely not necessary and perpetuate an attitude toward women that is prevelent in today's society. It doesn't hold shock value and if that is the writier's intention, that is pretty lame.
I noticed that there was liberty taken to make the play about Vancouver, in particular mentioning someone pan-handling at Main and Hastings to get money to buy crack, so I know that the producers could have made adjustments to the script to change the languare of denigrating women.
I can't believe that Colin Thomas overlooked all of this and doesn't see violent language delivered with total vitriol as violence itself. Wouldn't rely on your take on a play when deciding to purchase tickets.
Oscar Jr sez...
Apr 17, 2012 at 1:06pm
This is a provocative, thought provoking show that deserves an audience. You won't see a finer ensemble or a more challenging script anywhere in Vancouver.
No doubt it is full of coarse language and mature themes and will probably offend some. However, I disagree with the above posts claiming the show is sexist and racist. First of all: there's a difference between a stereotype and an archetype. This script merges biblical characters with contemporary archetypes, drawing parallels and juxtapositions that are at times irreverent, at times illuminating, and at times just plain hilarious. The purpose here, I think, is to humanize myths, to delve into these men and women as people, not as saints and icons. There's no doubt the play tackles issues of violence, sexism, racism, etc. It is, after all, using one of the most violent, sexist, racist, pieces of literature in the english language as it's source material - The Bible. I mean, have you read Leviticus lately? Yikes. However, this show also does a tremendous job of exploring the fundamental aspects of Christianity - forgiveness, tolerance, and love. This is at the heart of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Were it that we could remind the Rick Santorums and Pastor Phelps' of the world (along with their shocking number of followers) that these are the tenants of their religion the world would be better for it. Put all of this in the context of Christian culture's most vilified whipping boy (Judas) and you've got some very provocative themes summed up very eloquently by the final scene.
This production features a cross section of different races, sexes, cultures, and, presumably, religious beliefs. I think it's insulting to assume that these people (the actors, producers, ect.) are wilfully participating in a racist/sexist production. Give these folks some credit. Or ask them.
Also, I can't find any mention of accusations of racism or sexism in any of the reviews of the New York or Toronto productions. Curious. I wonder if the above "Angry Theatre consumers" are a little too preoccupied with "Political Correctness" and a little under preoccupied with something of genuine cultural significance.
Adnan
Apr 18, 2012 at 1:30am
Thought provoking, well acted. Fantastic memorable moments & performances but directing was uneven.
Bella Dee
Apr 18, 2012 at 1:43pm
Awesome acting but seriously, like 35 bux for this? For 35 bux I can see an amazing band at the Commodore and the level of entertainment here doesn't compare. If it was 10 bux cheaper I would have no complaints. I know shows cost money but the director could've doublecasted more.
Good talent on display but when I can watch amazing HBO shows for cheap, you end up asking yourself which show gives me more entertainment value for my dollar.
Plus my seats were bad, I couldn't see half the stage. I've taken a couple acting classes before and seriously the staging was only done with the orchestra in mind. The director should've fixed this. From where I was, most of the show was invisible. I'd love to support local more but with not being able to see half the show and paying 35 bux, I'll think twice next time.
Julie.
May 2, 2012 at 11:44am
"but when I can watch amazing HBO shows for cheap, you end up asking yourself which show gives me more entertainment value for my dollar."
What's lovely, though, is that theatre isn't just entertainment -- it's also there to be thought provoking and to challenge its audience, which this show definitely did. I'm willing to pay the extra money any night for the experience of captivating, challenging, live theatre like The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.