Sweet Jesus!

With Valentine’s Day looming, the sickly stench of love permeates the air, while banal conceptions of ‘desire’ are rammed into our faces in every shop window and on every television channel. Unfortunately, these tired clichés seem to have extended to Bedlam Theatre in the form of Sweet Jesus!, a weak comedy that attempts, and fails, to address and offer light relief to these well known themes.

Sweet Jesus! could be likened to the bizarre offspring of seventies kitchen sink drama and television sketch show Smack the Pony. The show’s four-part structure concerns four odd couples: a recently engaged couple trying to save a tree as well as their relationship, a girl in love with a boy who is obsessed with Marilyn Monroe, a couple trying to revive a flagging relationship with some strange role playing, and a hapless husband oblivious to the fact that his wife is having an affair with his psychiatrist. The couples all finally and coincidentally gather in the same restaurant for the scene that forms the comedic dénouement.

The humour seems to be rather reliant on flashy gimmicks, with the Hitler and Goebbels role-play provoking laughs, but there is a feeling that this is rather due to the shock of the image and physical comedy rather than the strength and thoughtfulness of the script. Despite these shortcomings there are some delightfully fun performances, including Catherine White’s suitably breathy and pouty Marilyn Monroe and Chris Craig Harvey’s ridiculous, harassed waiter.

It is impossible not to wonder throughout where all these musings on the trials and tribulations of relationships are going. Ultimately, however, the messages are confused and the ending overly contrived, forcibly tying together the two characters left over at the end of the proceedings. There are some mildly amusing moments, but the altogether weak script remains fractured and self-indulgent, providing an overall performance that fails to be either memorable or original.