Four monologues on faith, lust and family are woven together to tell the stories of Lizzie, Jane, Sally and Fiona, each from a different period of the twentieth century. The women’s experiences of family, religion and ambition are shaped by those around them and the times they live in. Read more …
Sex and God is the latest production from Magnetic North, whose highly acclaimed previous work includes the beautiful Walden and the hysterical Pass the Spoon.
Remarkable.
Although unquestionably artful, the production somehow manages not to be esoteric or inaccessible. Rather, it has the appeal of a rare artefact – fragile, enthralling and just a little enigmatic.
The impact of McLean’s text is more poetic than dramatic; but the range of the images she creates, and the sympathetic imagination that drives her writing, is never less than moving, and the show features four intense and heartfelt performances from a finely-tuned quartet of actors.
Director Nicholas Bone has drawn fine performances from the four-strong cast.
It abandons so many answers after throwing out reams of questions, and even though McLean has prompted a thoughtful investigation into the shifting paradigms surrounding women in society, Sex and God frustratingly leaves you wanting much more.
The compelling, intense performances by the actors are not enough to anchor all of the ideas contained in Sex & God, providing an experience as overwhelming as its namesakes.
The strands of the play are not always easy to follow, but in the moment, it is as beautiful and delicate as a chamber concert.
The whole is a poetic and engrossing hour with four brilliantly articulated performances and a set which just adds another layer or questioning to it all. A piece to be experienced, and immerse yourself in.
Linda McLean discusses her latest production, Sex & God
On Tour, from Thursday September 27, 2012, until Friday October 26, 2012.