By Amanda VanNostrand.
Inis Nua Theatre Company has returned, Philadelphia! With just two actors, a few chairs, and a backdrop that now only looks semi-familiar (it’s an airplane), A Holy Show is here to escort you back to a bit of normalcy through a night out at the theatre between now and October 24th.
To Americans, we may assume that A Holy Show is going to bring us through a church experience, perhaps one we’d rather not encounter. One would be remiss, however, to attend without knowing that to the Irish, “A Holy Show” means to embarrass or make a spectacle of oneself. This particular Holy Show will bring more laughter than tears and shame, so I urge you to consider attending!
A Holy Show tells the stories of passengers and crew on a 1981 Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to London. The flight is hijacked by a man who has made it into the cockpit and takes his extreme religious views and weaponizes them in the form of holy water. His demands? To speak to the Pope and obtain a secret that the Catholic church is surely hiding from the world. You can’t make this stuff up. In fact, the playwright Janet Moran, didn’t: this show is based on a true story, making it all the more intriguing.
While the flight holds over twenty passengers and crew members, there are a total of two actors in A Holy Show, taking what was surely a very stressful situation and turning it into a comedic spectacle. Actor 1 (Liam Mulshine) and Actor 2 (Rachel Brodeur) flow from character to character by the second and expose stories that, in the midst of trauma, become profound (and pretty funny). As the possibility of exploding with the plane dawns on everyone, their sense of self, each-other, and their true beliefs come to light. The lines are quirky, and the characters are just complex enough to stir light feelings within the audience.
From the emotional and conflicted newlywed couple to the one onboard to meet their grandchild for the first time, to the two flight attendants and the captain, Mulshine and Brodeur’s most palpable talents lie in their ability to swap from personality to personality in the blink of an eye. Their transitions are perfect, never once causing the audience to pause and wonder which characters they have become. Fortunately, the set is a simple one (Scenic Design by Marie Laster), giving the audience the ability to pay close attention to what is actually happening in the many transitions from being to being.
At one point in the show, one of the unnamed characters vehemently denies God. In the next scene where he feels great threat, he begins praying unceasingly to the God he had seconds ago been denying. This is the beauty of A Holy Show: while it is comedic, it presents characters that are relatable and very human, and gives the audience the opportunity to connect and reflect in their own way, realizing that in the blink of an eye, one’s beliefs can be shaken and there are times when we just snap back into who we truly are and what we truly believe is revealed. These lessons make A Holy Show fun and meaningful – a perfect way to dip back into theatre this season!
Running Time: 65 minutes with no intermission
Advisory: Strong language
Inis Nua Theatre company’s A Holy Show will be playing at The Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake until October 24th, 2021. The theater is located at 302 South Hicks Street (near 15th and Spruce) Philadelphia, PA. For tickets contact the box office at (215) 454-9776 or click here.