A filthy fable about a god-fearing Christian sect in rural Nebraska who, in a racy, sci-fi twist, are forced to wear butt plugs to avoid being sucked up into the ether, could be utterly naff. But the sheer artistry behind this hard-working two-hander ensures every second is surprisingly enchanting – even when it makes you blush.
It’s written and acted by Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper, who perform together as New York-based outfit American Sing Song. They are not only vivid storytellers but fine musicians and foley artists – creating their own sound effects on the fly. Over the course of this 80-minute show, every pop, suck and ominous whoosh (as a plug is fatefully removed) is heard, and every innuendo lands, sometimes in harmony.
There’s lots of intricate world building here, but essentially we’re in an apocalyptic landscape, where only the congregation of the prophesying Garth and a spattering of others who happened to have their arseholes plugged at the time of The Great Sucking have survived.
The bulk of it follows teen friends Connor (Leonhard-Hooper) and Luke (Brasch) as they venture out of their corn-fed community like a pair of Book of Mormon missionaries, only with the murderous intent of finding, de-plugging and thereby killing members of a gay community. But after a sexual awakening sees the boys do some converting of their own, a return to their conservative theocracy no longer beckons.
Stood behind a worktop that looks a little like a spaceship, with their hair twisted into identical gaping holes above their heads, Leonhard-Hooper and Brasch are impressively in sync and never lose us as they switch between characters and manipulate an impressive array of sound-making tools. Even their between-scenes swigs from comically large water bottles are synchronised. The songs are witty earworms you’ll want to stream after (albeit with a robust set of headphones given the x-rated lyrics). Brasch’s accompaniment on keys often makes the whole thing sound like a jaunty musical, and in a particularly inspired number, Leonard-Hooper provides a tap interlude with her hands manoeuvring the shoes.
Impish and brimming with originality, this is fringe theatre at its most scintillating and inventive.
• At Soho theatre, London, until 1 August; then at the Edinburgh festival fringe, 5-30 August.
