Hand to God Review

Little Theatre, Fri 18 Nov, 2022.

Presented by the Adelaide University Theatre Guild

Since its first production in 2011 Hand to God has been variously described as edgy, risky, filthy, provocative, and obscene – all of these descriptions are apt. It has nevertheless won multiple awards and based on this offering by the Adelaide University Theatre Guild  – deservedly so.

The action takes place in small town Texas in the space where fundamentalist Christian beliefs clash with the darker smouldering desires that many a good Christian blames on the devil. Margery has recently lost her husband and has taken to running puppetry classes for the local church youth group as she tries to build a new life for herself. Her son Jason joins in these classes, as does a very horny and outspoken youth called Timothy.  Out of the blue Timothy inappropriately declares his love for the much older Margery.  With this shocking revelation the genie of desire is released from the bottle and the struggle between good and evil begins.

Leading the way for the forces of evil is Tyrone, Jason’s puppet, as it becomes a mouthpiece for every carnal and impure thought Jason has ever had. Leading the forces for good is the local pastor – terrifically played with equal parts bluster and dignity by Brendan Cooney.

The star of the show is undoubtedly Tyrone, as played by his puppeteer, Jason. Matt Houston’s double act as himself and his wicked puppet is simply masterful.  Jason and Tyrone often communicate with each other in quick back and forth repartee. A little like ventriloquism – where two different voices argue with each other. Houston’s mastery steps up a notch when his puppet begins to torment others – tempting them to come clean and say what they really believe. He taunts and growls, hisses and heckles in an extraordinary performance.

Emily Branford shines as Margery. Her rock-solid belief in all things Jesus sure takes a battering, but she is in turn compassionate, understanding, despairing, deceitful and desperate and despite everything ultimately retains some sense of dignity.

Well-known rock and country music tunes make scene changes really entertaining and subtly remind the audience of location and underlying themes.

There are a couple of unforgettable scenes in this play – I kid you not! And as the posters around town suggest, some things cannot be unseen!

Those with strongly held religious beliefs will no doubt find this play offensive. But if, like the playwright, Robert Askins (who grew up in the Texan Bible-bashing belt), you believe that the hypocritical nature of fundamentalist Christianity needs to be called out, then you’ll love this.

This production of Hand To God is funny, insightful, and entertaining.  Strong, near faultless performances from the whole cast. And hats off to Director Nick Fagan for pulling this one out of the hat.

Go and see it!

(This review also published on The Clothesline.)