A new play at the Blue Room provides a different take on what happened in Jerusalem a little over 2000 years ago.
‘Jesus – No Ordinary Life’ is a satirical retelling of the biblical tale of the birth and rise of Jesus Christ.
Mary breaks it to Joseph that she’s having a baby and he’s not the father. After God speaks to him and reassures him that he should take responsibility for the child, Joseph agrees to raise Jesus as his son.
A few years later when the church is going through some challenges in building audience numbers they hire a top marketing firm to develop an advertising campaign to bring in the crowd. The concept they come up with ‘Jesus – the son of God’.
So while an actor takes on the role of Jesus for the marketing company, the real teenage Jesus is also out and about performing some pretty nifty tricks.
This show features some of Perth’s top improvisational and comedic actors including Talei Howell-Price, Anthea Gibbs, Brendan Hanson, Nick Pages-Oliver, Sean Walsh and Shane Adamczak.
A superb cast, who bring a steady roll of jokes and comedic moments. While technically blasphemous, very few moments are likely to cause any real offence.
And maybe this where my disappointment with this show lies, I really wanted to be shocked and see the boundaries be pushed. I was hoping for some comedy that came at the expense of delicate sensibilities.
The show is laugh out loud funny, but I felt like there was a wealth of unexplored territory, and the script had played it safe. By having Jesus both as a real person creating miracles and another character who is a fake Jesus created by a marketing team, this show is having a bet each way.
This show is fun, the performers are talented, and no doubt you’ll have a fun night at the theatre. Will it be something you talk about at the water cooler the next morning? Maybe not.
‘Jesus: No Ordinary Life’ is playing at the Blue Room until July 4th.
Graeme Watson
