Under attack by the other prisoners he's placed in an "at-risk" block with only one other inmate; for one hour a day he shares the exercise yard (though each still in their own cages) with serial killer Lucius "The Black Plague" Jenkins (Oberon K. A. Adjepong,) who's awaiting extradition to Florida, and the death penalty.
Lucius has killed at least eight people and, even worse, is one of those born-again Christians who won't take no for an answer when they insist on turning every conversation to the subject of their faith and berating anyone who doesn't share it. Having spent the last two years of his life fighting someone who used people's willingness to believe for his own gain, Angel has a much more complicated relationship with religion, and the play largely charts the clashes between the two men. Guirgis is very even-handed in his approach: Lucius having found religion only after killing a load of people and being caught for it is very convenient for him, but Angel's insistence on the fact that he never intended to kill the cult leader is shown as being partly about refusing to accept responsibility for what he did.
The story is narrated by Mary Jane Hanrahan (Dervla Kirwan - I don't know what she did to so offend costume designer Kinnetia Isidore that she put her in those trousers,) Angel's lawyer, then not his lawyer, then his lawyer again. Convinced she's a cut above most public defenders her defence plan for Angel is nevertheless full of mistakes and dubious strategies that leave her client vulnerable, as well as herself. Joplin Sibtain adds an edge of pure sadism as guard Valdez, although I remain unconvinced that the character is much more than a prison story cliché - he doesn't serve much purpose except as a shared antagonist for Angel and Lucius to bond over.
Lucius is the kind of scene-stealing character who can dominate a play but Roach manages to make an impact as Angel's cockiness barely disguises his vulnerability - and Mary Jane's narration reveals the horrors he's undergone in prison that he's not equipped to fight back against. As the glass walls of Willi's set slide up and down the traverse they give a lot of variety to a seemingly simple design, and the crashing drums and jazz trumpets of Peter Rice's sound design keep an ominous energy in between scenes - although the volume's a bit higher than necessary, the person sitting next to me had his fingers in his ears for every scene change and the overall impression is that someone got a drumkit for Christmas.
Hewitt's production makes for an intense and energetic couple of hours that feel action-packed despite much of the play consisting of lengthy dialogue scenes. Unsurprisingly from the writer of The Motherfucker with the Hat, much of what keeps the play going is some very witty dialogue and light touches that stop the subject matter from dragging the play to too bleak a place - there's even a recurring theme of Hanna-Barbera cartoons cropping up in the dialogue. And it's one of those shows designed to send you home with more questions than answers: Your own feelings on religion are likely to determine whether Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train is the story of Lucius saving Angel or damning him.
Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis is booking until the 30th of March at the Young Vic.
Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes including interval.
Photo credit: Johan Persson.
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