Anna Burnside reviews ‘a slick production of a very knowing musical.’
In designing an enjoyable evening out, it would be a brave soul who picked Aids and female genital mutilation as subjects to set to music. The creators of The Book of Mormon, however, are made of stern stuff. Their instincts, back in 2011, were that there was huge fun to be poked at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Their groaning trophy cabinet—and the fact the show is back at Scotland’s largest theatre—proves they were right.
Two newly-qualified Mormon missionaries are dispatched from Salt Lake City to Uganda. There, they must persuade villagers struggling with Aids and the threat of a machine gun-wielding warlord bent on mutilating women that what they need is an American redux of Christianity passed down on golden plates in the 1800s.
Using a bold mixture of Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, scatological references and a frog, they actually pull this off. Kind of.
This is a slick production of a very knowing musical. The big numbers follow traditional formats and are delivered in an ‘haute’ camp style—even when they are about homophobia within the Mormon religion. There are several references to The Lion King, as well as guest appearances from an LED-robed Jesus and Darth Vader.
The book was rewritten when Broadway reopened after Covid to give the African characters more agency. They now use some pretty choice language to put the white saviours in their place.
Is it what Jesus would have wanted? Probably not. Is it an enjoyable evening out? Hell yes.
The UK tour of The Book of Mormon performs at the Edinburgh Playhouse until November 2, 2024. For further details, go to the production’s website.
Photo by Paul Coltas.
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