Is God Is — REVIEW

Highly anticipated, the play Is God Is by American writer Aleshea Harris takes the old form of a Greek tragedy and propels it into a world of black culture colliding with a post modernist deconstruct.

Before the actors hit the stage, the theatre is fired with bass heavy RnB beats, including Missy Elliott’s Lose Control, charging the space with expectation.

The waft of scented air adds to the heightened atmosphere within the theatre.

Entering the dimly lit stage is a figure with an illuminated house on its head, smoke and light pouring out from its openings.

Behind, on stage, is a large wooden structure, also representing a house, which is where we first meet twins Anaia (Henrietta Enyonam Amevor) and Racine (Masego Pitso).

Their bodies and faces appear to be disfigured by scars, but at this stage we don’t know if they are tattoos, an affliction or the result of misadventure.

The two are discussing a letter from She (Cessalee Stovall), their mother, who is summoning them south after many years of estrangement.

The house spins on a revolve until it reveals its contents, the imposing figures of She, represented as somewhat frightening figure of a Santeria priestess.

We learn that all three have been disfigured by fire, the result of an attack from their father, referred to as Man (Kevin Copeland).

On the sidelines, the stage is visited by a tall, wraith like figure who only exists in the shadows.

So begins their search that leads them to the office of lawyer Chuck Hall (Patrick Williams) in far off California.

Another spin of the house and we are in front of a house where we meet Man’s teenage boys, Riley and Scott, played by Grant Young and Darius Williams respectively, and Man’s wife Angie (Clare Chihambakwe).

Everything is now set for the denouement, which comes as a shocking and visually memorable explosive moment.

Co-directed by Zindzi Okenyo and Shari Sebbens, Is God Is has the right mix of tension, mystery and comedic relief to overcome the shock and at times implausible and morally ambiguous premise of the text.

As the twins, Amevor and Pitso takes us through their journey as they fight for their individuality while submitting to the commands of a mother they did not know, and at the same time pursuing their vigilante justice for the father who has left them permanently scarred.

As Man’s self centred but innocent sons, Young and Williams question the validity of the twins’ actions, while Chihambakwe has a small but effective role as their ‘mom’.

Throughout the play we are under the shadow of Man, a role that Copeland plays with the right amount of menace and evil with no chance of redemption.

Renee Mulder’s set is a simple backdrop of plastic sheets dominated by what looks like a large wooden doll’s house, that, with the help of Jenny Hector’s creative lighting, becomes an ominous character in itself.

Composer and sound designer Joe Paradise Lui has produced a score consistent with the RnB tracks that precede the show, and firmly roots it in the culture that it is presenting.

Lyndall Grant’s fight choreography is both impactful and creative in its approach, often using suggestion rather than physical connection.

The players in Is God Is are so well cast and equally matched that we believe them and engage across the plays duration, even when the script ventures into non-realism.

Is God Is a challenging, confronting and often shocking experience that is ultimately rewarding on many levels.

September 15 – October 21