REVIEW: Waiting for God. Oh. By Leona McLoughlin at Old Red Lion Theatre (FreshFest) 8-10 February 2024



‘accessible, personal and interesting’ ★★★★

God (Erica Tavares-Louassi) is a Black female with long, flowing hair and is making herself and the audience comfortable, under the hot spotlights of the empty stage before the show officially begins. She pulls out a small armchair, a couple of stools, some glasses and a jug of water. God is clearly expecting someone and eventually pulls that someone from the audience, an unsuspecting and nervous person in the front row. Babe (Léona McLaughhlin), as referred to by God, doesn't like the moniker and doesn't crave the spotlight. But there she is, nevertheless, facing The Creator, embarrassed about being on her phone and drinking as the show was to begin.

Like a criminal desperate to tell someone, anyone how they got away with their crime, God invites questions. And then expresses disappointment that the question is about the Big Bang, creation itself, before Babe pulls the question completely. She doesn’t want to know the answer to the biggest question of the universe after all. Tavares-Louassi is a most believable God, calm and self-assured, even humorous, yet acknowledges the mistakes that have been made with humanity.

At this point, the conversation teeters on the philosophical but remains accessible, personal, interesting. Discussions about Free will, sex, and marathons ensue, with an understandable reference to Bruce Almighty, in which God imbued powers on Jim Carrey’s character. That doesn’t happen here. Rather, there is some flickering of lights and the provision of cheese Wotsits, which Babe loves. Oh, and of course, some turning water into wine, a wonderful moment, just like the first time.

This god appears at times impotent, immovable, even at times dispassionate. This god refers to people as an Infestation and has sent disease (including Covid) to reduce the population. Strangely, this God doesn’t know the calendar year, surprised humanity had lasted longer than she expected, but tracks the world’s population.

Babe turns the tables (and McLaughlin, also the writer, really comes alive) when she suddenly awakes to the realisation that our gods are our devices that ping and light up and claims that “we are more disconnected than we have ever been” and accusingly cries, “You gave us everything, but haven't you seen what everything has done?" And it is in that moment of recrimination that God is able to turn it around in an instant, allowing the audience to get on their phones for the ultimate of purposes: connection.

What is really lovely about this stripped-down piece of theatre, clearly directed (Nicky Allpress) is that it leaves the audience feeling a sense of unity with the world, their loved ones, and with the people on stage. A very powerful, almost miraculous, god-like moment.

Waiting for God. Oh? More like God waiting for us... to connect.

Written by Léona McLaughlin

Performed by Léona McLaughlin, Erica Tavares-Louassi

Directed by Nicky Allpress

Sound Designer: Nuria Riba Rossy

Stage Manager: Carol Mannix

Reviewed by Mariam Mathew