Fourth Monkey's Genesis + Revelation : Ascension Parts 1 & 2, theSpace @ Niddry St, Review

Submitted by Jon Cross on Tue, 23 Aug '16 10.41pm
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Rating (out of 5)
4
Show info
Company
Fourth Monkey
Production
Steven Green (Writer and Director) assisted by Daniel Hemming, Zahra Mansouri (Set & Costume Design), Pablo Fernandez Baz (Lighting Design), Alistair Lax (Sound Design)
Performers
Members of Fourth Monkey
Running time
65mins

The action opens with the sound of frantically galloping hoofs. Four backpackers wander on rather aimlessly. They seem to have lost their way. They begin to speculate about the most likely causes of the End of the World. Disease? Starvation? War? We know who they are, and we cling to that knowledge as wave after wave of strangely dressed creatures spill onto the stage from left and right or are spewed from the great Caesarean gash at the back of the stage. Is that The Harlot of Babylon? Is that The Lamb or The Child of Blood? We rack our tired brains for half-remembered fragments of horror films.

In this "midnight exploration of the apocalypse" the Seventh Seal is broken, and all hell breaks loose. John, the blinded author of Revelation, struggles to make sense of his visions and to write it all down. Bewildering scene follows confusing scene. But things of great importance are happening. Where will it all end?

It would be futile to attempt a synopsis of the action; even the most devout student of the Bible would struggle to figure exactly out what is going on. If The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are lost, uncertain about the exact schedule for The End of Days, what hope can there be for the rest of us?

The End of the World is presented in two manageable parts on consecutive nights, both ending with the birth of a child, one perhaps the anti-Christ, one perhaps the new Saviour. But in a chilling climax, Satan reaches out towards the newborn infant. Perhaps, in the end, there is no escape from Original Sin.

This is weird and wonderful and well worth watching as highly engaging, late-night entertainment.

See it now before it's too late!

August 5,7,10,12,14,17,19,21,24,26 (Part 1) 11.55pm
August 6,9,11,13,16,18,20,23,25,27 (Part 2) 11.55pm
Tickets £8 (£6)