Hand To God by The SRT: Wicked, Funny and Definitely Not Sesame Street

PUBLISHED April 18th, 2017 06:00 am

One of the biggest contributions of The Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is bringing brought interesting, and often controversial plays, from London’s West End and New York’s Broadway to Singapore audiences. This April, be prepared to be engaged, provoked, and tickled at Hand To God, a play labeled by the New Yorker as  “Sesame Street meets the Exorcist”.
By American playwright Robert Askins, Hand of God narrates the life of shy, mild-mannered Jason who is just trying to be a good son. After his father’s recent death, Jason is forced to join his mother, Margery, in her Church-led puppet group. At the group, Jason discovers a growing talent for puppetry, and it seems like things might turn out just fine, after his father’s sudden passing.

Jason’s sock puppet, Tyrone, has other plans. As the foul-mouthed, independent, and devilishly funny Tyrone grows in strength, Jason’s complex relationships with the school bully, the girl-next-door, and most importantly, his mother, are thrown into upheaval. Tyrone shocks the congregation with his outrageous insinuations, exposing their deepest secrets – and teaching the audience what it means to be human.

The production also features a great cast including Thomas Pang (Romeo & Juliet), stage veterans Daniel Jenkins and Janice Koh, as well as Ann Lek and Gavin Yap. We caught up with Director Guy Unsworth:

What do you think makes Hand to God such a unique comedy?

I’ve always considered ‘farce’ to refer to ordinary people in extraordinary situations (like a lowly cab driver finding a million dollar diamond left in the back of his cab) and straight ‘comedy’ to refer to extraordinary people in ordinary situations (Donald Trump combing his hair in the morning). Both are funny in their own right, but farce tends to become far-fetched and exhausted, whilst comedy can fail to get going if the ingredients aren’t potent enough. In Hand to God, both farce and comedy exist in abundance and at times in a marriage between the two…Seemingly ordinary characters get caught up in seemingly ordinary circumstances, but these become extraordinary circumstances which make the ordinary characters become extraordinary too. Are you still with me?

In essence, the comedy is anarchic and farcical, but it’s real and believable, bringing with it a whole series of events that shock and surprise us along the way.

What have been your greatest challenges when directing this production?

Making sure I deliver all sides of the discussion – showing both sides of the coin. It’s a play about people, about family, about faith, about grief, love, desire, loss, parenting, pastoring, teenagers, puppets, cheeky puppets, naughty puppets. There’s a lot to cover and I don’t want to miss any of it. But that’s a very fun challenge with this show and this brilliant cast.

The play is set in the playwright’s hometown of Cypress, Texas. Is this production sticking to the original script and setting? Could the setting of this play ever be changed to another country or culture?

The script remains the same except for some local Texan restaurant names. To say I’ve relocated it would be wrong, but I have neutralised its setting. I don’t want to lose the character of the play, which takes place within a close-knit conservative Christian church community, but I also think there’s a danger of it feeling like a million miles away for the audience here. So I’d like to think we’ve de-alienated it for the audience and with a multi-national cast, it’s a very good fit for somewhere with an international and religious community.

Yes, I’m convinced it could be changed, and that’s partly the reason for its success. There are 53 productions of this play in America right now – and that’s not because they want to see a bit of Texas, it’s because there’s something in this play which speaks to everyone in their own individual way.

What will the audience learn from this production of Hand to God?

Religious or not, male or female, young or old, puppet or human, everyone should see this play as they’ll all take something different from it. Oh and ultimately it’s a rollercoaster ride of anarchic fun, so if you fail to take a personal life story from it, you’ll be watching 5 fantastic actors in a terrific piece of entertainment.

Hand To God runs at the KC Arts Centre – Home of the SRT from 19th April to 6 May 2017. Please see SISTIC for tickets.