TESTAMENT (Via Brooklyn)****

 

By Dave

Link: https://www.viabrooklyn.org/testament 

Available until: April 24^th 2021. The rental lasts 24 hours.

Content warning: MATURE. This video contains mature, or explicit, or sexually suggestive content. It may not be appropriate for all viewers.

Testament is based on three stories from the Bible with a modern twist. I’m not a Christian myself, I’d probably call myself an agnostic of Muslim descent but they’re all characters I have a vague knowledge of. But even if you don’t know the Biblical characters, I don’t think that matters. Testament is a strong enough piece to stand up on its own.

Also, although I really hope no one who watches this has ever been in the same situation as the characters, there are elements we can relate to. The stories are about families, with a slight focus on the relationships fathers have with their children. Three of the characters have difficult relationships with their fathers. The fourth is a father.

The setting seems to be some sort of therapy group. It’s led by Rosetta, played by Desiree Rodriguez, who is also the musical director for the show. Rather than offering support in words, Rosetta sings a song after each person has told their stories. I think I’d probably describe the style as gospel. Desiree has a beautiful voice and the songs are really lovely. It’s easy to imagine that her songs might give support to people who are struggling. Apart from being a great addition to the show, it’s a nice idea too. It’s probably quite hard for therapists to put things into words without resorting to all the usual cliches but the music seems to be filled with genuine emotion.

Writer Tristan Bernays has used three Biblical stories as the basis for this play. We meet Abraham’s son, Lot’s daughters (who tell their story together) and the Impenitent Thief on the Cross. The stories have been modernised but follow the same pattern and the same horror. The characters do things we won’t necessarily all agree with but it’s easy to understand the emotions that led them to it.

Lucy Jane Atkinson (who also directed Vespertilio at the King’s Head Theatre, which we watched a couple of days ago) directs this production. The characters sit in a circle of chairs. The inward focus of this group could have shut its audience out but – at least in this filmed production – I found their closeness made the play even more intense and I couldn’t help thinking what it must be like to find out what the people sitting next to them had done.

Doron Jepaul Mitchell plays Abraham’s son Isaac (which is the name of one of the Biblical Abraham’s many sons). His account of his relationship with his father is disturbing but compelling.

Jessica Giannone and Cori Hundt sound Italian and German respectively but their characters are both from the Southern United States. They are Lot’s daughters, here given the names of Mary and Jane. They are convincingly close, finishing each other’s sentences, always supporting each other. I really like the fact this story is told by two people rather than one. One monologue after another can work brilliantly (as Cal’s review of All Your Houses will tell you) but this is something different and it works.

Finally we hear from the Impenitent Thief, renamed Anthony and played by Biko Eisen-Martin. The Impenitent Thief doesn’t tell a story about his father. He is a father. The other stories are horrific (in terms of what happens to the characters - the writing definitely isn’t horrific) but this story is also very sad because it seems that Anthony is a good man who was driven to desperation because he loved his child more than anything. There are lines I’ll never cross but I’m a father too and up to a point I really do get it. This story is very movingly-told and if I was familiar with the original story, I think this retelling and Biko’s performance would have made me think about it in new ways.

Make sure you read the content warning (taken from Vimeo) before you decide if you want to watch it but if you do like the sound of it, it’s a really interesting play with some great performances.