Hand To God
Location: Vaudeville Theatre
Date Seen: 19th February 2016
Seen With: No one
Understudies at This Performance: N/A
Summary
Margery
is a woman who has recently become a widow and is caring for her only son
Jason. To keep her and Jason occupied she forms a puppet club at the local
church hall with Pastor Greg’s blessing. However her good intentions backfire
when she receives the attention of one of the teenage group members and when
Jason’s puppet Tyrone takes on a life of his own.
Acting
The
first thing I will say is that if you’re looking for a serious play then this
is not for you. The acting is purposefully over the top and exaggerated. That
said it is delivered with such skill that you genuinely believe this is who
these characters are. Janie Dee who plays Margery has a brilliant character arc
and she performs beautifully as we see her well held exterior come down with an
almighty crash as she declares that being good has never done her any good and
she wants to be bad. With a small cast, no one can hide from scrutiny and with
that I think the actor’s performed with gusto. At times I felt key comedy punch
lines were rushed therefore not being heard and the comedic effect was lost.
That said, there was no loss of comedy between Jason and Tyrone, the
character’s played by Harry Melling. I was convinced at first that Tyrone was a
voiceover as the voice was so different but this was not the case. I was in awe
at how Melling was able to execute both characters to such a high standard. His
role was extremely physically with various incidences of Tyrone his sock pocket
beating him up or pinning him down. Not once did I think this was someone
pretending to be a sock puppet, I believed that this sock puppet really had
come to life and was a separate being to Jason. And that blew my sock off! (pun
intended!)
Music & Songs
The
auditorium music prior to the show beginning is a compilation of American
country music which sets the scene for the play. Throughout the rest of the
piece, music and sound is only used for transitions between scenes or as
background effect for Tyrone’s antics.
Choreography
N/A
Direction
The
direction is clearly evident in this piece as the cast are slick, the use of
the space is well judged and it’s clear that it has positively influenced all
of the actors. Comedy timing is worked well into this piece and the balance of
high energy scenes using the whole space, and more intimate scenes, work well
together. The cast has a really high energy and good chemistry between them
which makes for a really easy watch. The director has clearly instilled this
from an early stage and it was great enjoyment to watch.
Set/Lighting
For
the set, imagine a local church hall painted in pale blue. It has what you’d
expect – stackable plastic seating, shelves of books and children’s’ toys,
bright coloured posters and art work plastering the walls. It seems very
realistic and sets the scene extremely well. What I didn’t expect was that the
set was like a book with hinges and opens and closes to reveal snippets of
other locations such as outside the hall, Jason’s bedroom and Pastor Greg’s
office. The lighting is brilliant and best demonstrated during Tyrone’s
‘demonic’ tirade.
Costumes
The
costumes are simple but this is all they need to be. I can categorise the
puppets and costume here as they are their own person in this play. The puppets
uses are hand and rod puppets. The hand is used to move the puppet’s mouth and
the rods are used to move the arms. What is clever is how such simple puppets
can be used to create such expressiveness, which is down to the acting.
Stand Out Performances
Harry
Melling as Jason/Tyrone: I grew up with Melling on my screen as Dudley Dursley
from the Harry Potter series but he has grown up into a truly talented actor.
What was so impressive about his performance is he is playing 2 characters
throughout the piece often interacting with himself between Jason and Tyrone.
Each was so distinct and clear that I believed the relationship between him and
Tyrone.
Show to Show Comparisons
It’s
easy to compare this show to two musicals I’ve scene due to the use of puppetry
as seen in Avenue Q and the could-be offensive humour as seen in The Book Of
Mormon. Like Avenue Q, the actor and puppets become as one and there is one
scene that may make some audiences gasp, though in the case of the evening I
went, everyone was in hysterics.
Would I Recommend?
Yes
– anyone who enjoyed The Book Of Mormon and/or Avenue Q will probably love this
as much as me.
Overall Verdict (Out of 5 Stars):
4 Stars
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