Theatre review: Is God Is

The Royal Court is currently offering up two shows a night on its main stage, and if What If If Only is concerned with wishing someone would return from the dead, Is God Is opens with just that happening: Twins Racine (Tamara Lawrance) and Anaia (Adelayo Adedayo) thought their mother had died in the same fire that left them both scarred, until they get a letter from her. Even more horrifically burnt, she's been clinging on to life in a convalescent home for 18 years, but now she thinks her time is finally up, and she wants to see her daughters. From her deathbed, their mother (Cecilia Noble) gives them the full story of how their father tried to burn her to death because she "wouldn't hold him," and asks for one favour before she goes: They need to find him, kill him (ideally breaking his spirit first,) and bring her back a bloody trophy to prove that he's gone. The hot-headed Racine and more reserved, thoughtful Anaia head off to California, letting no-one stand in their way.

Aleshea Harris' play wears many influences on its sleeve, most of them genres known for a hyper-stylised approach to violence: At times a cartoon, at others a Western, Noble's disturbing speech about her attempted murder and demand for revenge is reminiscent of Greek tragedy, while the chapter titles integrated into Chloe Lamford's set probably owe more to Tarantino than Brecht.

It also nods to the classic American road movie as the women cross the country to find the lawyer who knows their father's last whereabouts - Chuck (Ray Emmet Brown) could himself be a distant relative of Breaking Bad's Saul Goodman, and their quest for information is hampered slightly by the fact that when they arrive he's halfway through a suicide attempt. It's the kind of black comedy that's the dominant tone in Harris' play, and it's far from the last death as Anaia tries to hold back her sister's bloodlust, but she too, the more severely scarred of the pair, has demons that might only be exorcised by violence.

The twins' father has built a new family, and here we get a succession of largely likeable characters whose greater fortune in life has left them unable to see how desperate the two women have become. Vivienne Acheampong as the father's second wife gives probably the most relatable performance of the evening, before we move on to Jacobean revenge tragedy in the Hollywood Hills - Anaia and Racine's new teenage twin brothers (Ernest Kingsley Jnr and Rudolphe Mdlongwa) are a couple of gormlessly entertaining, doomed characters straight out of that genre. It all leads up, of course, to a standoff with the nameless Man (Mark Monero,) their father.

This is an interesting evening full of comedy, shocks and genuinely disturbing moments - the only unusual choice is Ola Ince's production steering clear of the blood and gore I would have associated with most of the genres referenced. Its wider intentions are maybe a bit harder to pin down than its immediate gut-punch effect - there's certainly commentary on vast social and financial gaps, and the entire killing spree is a female reaction to male violence. If the aim's to be cathartic that's certainly not how the sole surviving character at the end feels. But maybe I'm assuming that a Royal Court play will have multiple unseen layers, and the ultimate point is to be taken along for the ride; Is God Is has apparently been optioned for a film adaptation, and that'll probably be a good medium for it - a genre-savvy action thriller with a bit of social commentary and some nasty surprises thrown in.

Is God Is by Aleshea Harris is booking until the 23rd of October at the Royal Court's Jerwood Theatre Downstairs.

Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes straight through.

Photo credit: Tristram Kenton.