Twins, Anaia (Henrietta Enyonam Amevor) and Racine (Masego Pitso), get a letter from their estranged mother (Cessalee Stovall), whom they long thought dead, to come to her nursing home in the dirty south. Bedridden with the effects of major burns, she reminds them of the incidents preceding their father’s leaving, having set her and the children on fire, leaving them all disfigured. Before her death, she wants her girls to enact brutal revenge, with a directive to return with proof of the crime.
The twins are then off on a wild adventure that’s equal parts Western revenge, Tarantino splatter-core and Greek tragedy, covering the Deep South to the California desert to Connecticut. The scrappy, bloodthirsty Racine is eager to complete the task, dragging her more pragmatic sister along for the ride, with the pair encountering several henchmen on the way to the Final Boss. Their Father, however (played by Kevin Copeland), has a different version of how things turned out: either the truth or an attempt to avoid certain death at the hands of his estranged daughters.
Renee Mulder’s set design is beautiful and deceptively minimalist, focussed on a plywood house-shaped box on wheels, which opens up to reveal scenes – or characters – within. The effect is whimsical but utilitarian, with nods to the dystopian nature of contemporary America and the parentless life that the twins inhabit.
The play draws a discussion of the broken systems that have been handed to young people, the lack of belief systems, and seeing them believe in anything that gives them a purpose – even if it leads to their own destruction. Framing the story within the tropes of the West – the epitome of white masculinity at the forefront of imperialism – subverts the genre within a Black female lens.
Excellent performances abound, particularly from Pitso, Eyonam Amevor and Stovall, with the entire cast relishing the brilliant and fun dialogue from writer Aleshea Harris. This is risk-taking theatre with a deep thematic journey, and definitely one younger audiences will understand.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Review attended 29th September 2023
Is God Is is performing until 21st October 2023 at Wharf 1 Theatre at the Sydney Theatre Company. Head HERE for more information and tickets
Header image credit: Pia Johnson
