Holy Land

Posted by yodamo

Script: Performance:
Stagecraft: S.O.D:

This was my first visit to C Aquila; I found it very relaxed and welcoming, the entrance room opening up to stairs then to a small room for stage and seating. The action began with frenzied dialogue between Jon, Tim and Kate, each of whom had a different story to tell, all threads intertwining in their undercurrent of darkness. The content included sexual assault and loss (Jon), sexual inquiry and power (Kate) and a frantic distaste for God from Tim. Together they had a kind of disbelief about the words coming out of their mouths, but for each the reality came home more and more as the syllables sunk into their psyche negatively and powerfully.

Rick Romero as ‘Jon’

Kate, for instance, spoke honestly and without hesitation about the dream of sex from the point of view of a young woman; hopefully her father wouldn’t hear her talk this way. Jon absorbed our abhorrence by becoming rational, distant and reasonable but he often had tears streaming down his face. A screen at the back showed dark footage and mingled with the dialogue as a great noise in the actor’s heads, vexing them with amplification.

It’s a time in your life where you don’t have a lot of control over your life or decisions and that’s really what sits at the core of the play – How did we get to be here? How little control do we have? How much of it can we take? Matthew Gouldesbrough
Read the full interview

All three were in a state of defiance as they reached for their rhetoric and headed towards the tragedy’s unfolding. The acting became more frantic, thrilling and desperate as the scenes became more and more explicit. There was a message here, confronting us with questions about how much control we have over our lives, how much manipulation we are subject to. The screen showed the dark influences we are surrounded by every day, the way they affect us both from within and without. It throws light on modern sexual mores, issues of gun control, chemical abuse. Striking, passionate, scary, this show was not an easy ride but rather a plea for help that will shake you up.

Daniel Donnelly