A well-written, interesting and sympathetic production that eloquently demonstrates the complexity of living with mental health issues.Summary
Rating
Good!
Tip Top Theatre Collective is a young Wiltshire fringe theatre collective performing their play, God, the Devil, and Me at the Drayton Arms. It’s for a good cause, with all of the money left over from ticket sales going to Young Minds, a charity supporting young people with mental health issues. It’s a new play, and this is one of its stops on its way to the Edinburgh Fringe.
As we enter, we are met by The Devil (Campbell Maddox), resplendent in a red waistcoat and matching top hat. Very jolly he is too, interacting with the audience and promising to catch up later. The set is bare save a stack of vinyls on the floor, with an ABBA track belting out in the background. Before long, he is joined by God (Neo Jelfs), dressed in a similar suit but this time in white, with shoulder-length hair (remind you of anyone?). The two of them enjoy each other’s company and banter in an esoteric fashion, mainly about redemption versus damnation. It’s clever dialogue, funny and thought-provoking. Soon, they are joined by teenager Gabe (Noah Edmondson), who is, well, a teenager. Clearly, he’s a little stressed by exams, but otherwise an articulate, intelligent young adult who just happens to be a little withdrawn. He is self-aware, interacting honestly with the two intellectuals and holding his own.
I have to be honest here and say it took me a while to work out (spoiler alert) that Gabe is indeed Gabriel, as in the Angel (although I did work it out before he came on set adorned with a full set of wings…). This half continues with a visit from a school friend who is concerned that Gabe is a bit withdrawn and has not been out recently. To be honest, she comes across as a little over keen, and I assume Gabe is just not interested, along with being conscientious and wanting to focus on his schoolwork. At any point that Gabe’s mum or friend comes into the room, the Devil/God duo disappear off stage.
I appreciate reading this back, that perhaps the second half should have been less of a surprise to me than it was, but in my defence, I think the quality of the writing justifies my acceptance of the story at face value. The second half opens with Gabe in a mental health unit with psychosis: the God/Devil interactions were a result of his mental health issues. He is getting better, but has a long road ahead and has been an inpatient for some time.
This is an interesting production for many reasons. It’s clearly in its infancy and has a few issues that need ironing out, but the writing is sublime: clever and nuanced. The experience of living with psychosis and believing your hallucinations are real was so well told, I didn’t for one instance think it was delusional.
There are two halves, separated by a full 15-minute interval. I don’t think you need that long an interval for a production that is no more than 70 minutes in duration, although I do understand that a separation between the two halves is important. A brief break in the darkness would suffice. It is also fair to say that the acting is more than a bit clunky at times, with some performers significantly better than others. Nonetheless, for a stripped-back performance in a small black box, they did the subject justice. I look forward to seeing what Fionnuala Donnelly writes next.
Written and Directed by Fionnuala Donnelly
God, The Devil & Me plays at The Drayton Arms until Sunday 29 June.
