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The Hope Theatre, London
Until February 22
Cast: Max Raphael, Molly Hanly
Written by Eva Hudson
Directed by Lydia McKinley
Running Time 120 minutes, including interval
“LUST IS A SIN. BURN IN HELL, OR CALL 855-FOR-TRUTH,” were the words writer Eva Hudson saw screaming from a billboard at the side of a highway as she journeyed through America.
She called the number and found herself talking to a Mennonite preacher. Rather than convert, she was inspired to write a play about being young in a world where neither religious cults, led by hypocritical old men, nor science are altering our self-destructive path.
The source of hope for the desperate, up-and-coming generation is the time-honoured pursuit of falling in love, effectively creating a personal religion with brand new rules.
But, given that the premise of this youthful cri-de-coeur is that there are only six days to go before the end of the world, the time for mutual enjoyment is limited to the point of being paralysing. The ardent young disciples, Max Raphael as Isaac and Molly Hanly as Meredith, can be forgiven for doubting even their own religion.
Directed by Lydia McKinley, the production’s strength derives from its disruption of our perceptions. Instinctively, we side with the science, but Raphael, as the blundering, emotionally pent-up, would-be scientist Isaac, has arrived in a car that is the cause of the planet-destroying pollution and hands out plastic gifts. Hanly, as cult-member Meredith, for all her lack of conventional education, only uses natural materials and has instinctive understanding that Isaac lacks.
The weakness is the play’s length. It lost momentum after an interval that could have been avoided had the text been tightened.
Quibbles aside, the measured acting draws us into the world of the hoping, despairing lovers, and on many levels, we believe in it. That the end is nigh is horribly convincing.
855-FOR-TRUTH: An end of the world love story
The Hope Theatre, London
Until February 22
Cast: Max Raphael, Molly Hanly
Written by Eva Hudson
Directed by Lydia McKinley
Running Time 120 minutes, including interval
“LUST IS A SIN. BURN IN HELL, OR CALL 855-FOR-TRUTH,” were the words writer Eva Hudson saw screaming from a billboard at the side of a highway as she journeyed through America.
She called the number and found herself talking to a Mennonite preacher. Rather than convert, she was inspired to write a play about being young in a world where neither religious cults, led by hypocritical old men, nor science are altering our self-destructive path.
The source of hope for the desperate, up-and-coming generation is the time-honoured pursuit of falling in love, effectively creating a personal religion with brand new rules.
But, given that the premise of this youthful cri-de-coeur is that there are only six days to go before the end of the world, the time for mutual enjoyment is limited to the point of being paralysing. The ardent young disciples, Max Raphael as Isaac and Molly Hanly as Meredith, can be forgiven for doubting even their own religion.
Directed by Lydia McKinley, the production’s strength derives from its disruption of our perceptions. Instinctively, we side with the science, but Raphael, as the blundering, emotionally pent-up, would-be scientist Isaac, has arrived in a car that is the cause of the planet-destroying pollution and hands out plastic gifts. Hanly, as cult-member Meredith, for all her lack of conventional education, only uses natural materials and has instinctive understanding that Isaac lacks.
The weakness is the play’s length. It lost momentum after an interval that could have been avoided had the text been tightened.
Quibbles aside, the measured acting draws us into the world of the hoping, despairing lovers, and on many levels, we believe in it. That the end is nigh is horribly convincing.
Barbara Lewis © 2025.
By Barbara Lewis • plays, theatre, year 2025 • Tags: Barbara Lewis, plays, theatre