A four-star review of Ruby Blinkhorn's Cadaver Synod at KXT on Broadway, directed by Mathew Lee. A queer revisionist take on a Vatican scandal that dazzles with wit and craft, even as its final act stumbles.
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By Ruby Blinkhorn
KXT on Broadway
Presented by NIDA in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Co
Directed by Mathew Lee
There's a lot to admire about the ambition of Ruby Blinkhorn's (self-described) "sexed-up Vatican tragedy that's funny" – quick wit, a complex weave of political intrigue, and a healthy amount of sexy provocation one might expect from a queer revisionist take on the subject matter.
But does it succeed in coalescing comedy, parable, history, high-stakes drama, religion and queer campness into a theatrically satisfying climax? I'm not entirely sure.
(Partially) based on one of the Vatican's wildest scandals, "Cadaver Synod" plots the moments leading up to the infamous January 897 trial of the corpse - yes you read that correctly - of Pope Formosus, as well as the trial itself.
The result is a bold 90ish minutes that are bloody, revengeful, and occasionally moving - but mostly funny.
Director Mathew Lee navigates the script's many tone-shifts as seamlessly as one could hope for. It's a genuinely impressive directorial balancing act between high-camp hilarity and pathos, helped both by the specificity of Frankie Clarke's lighting, and the evocative choral motifs of Cameron Smith's gloriously melodramatic sound design.
There's magic, too, in the chemistry between the tight-knit ensemble of actors. They're at their strongest in the rapid-fire Monty Python-esque exchanges of earlier, comedic scenes – with Diego Retemales's sardonic delivery as brother Abraham providing a particularly amusing foil to the others.
However, it's Leon Walshe's striking vulnerability as Gabriel and Mark Langham's gravitas as Paul that provide the play's most profound moments.
Blinkhorn's writing has intelligence, plot complexity, real originality, and a natural affinity for comedic dialogue, but a lot of her script's more serious moments are undercut by a lack of subtext. You can feel the actors' craft working overtime to generate a level of sincerity and detail that ultimately just isn't there on the page.
And as much as I respect the modern desire to transcend genre, here it results in writing that keeps its subjects at arms length.
The play never fully decides if it wants to be an ironic, winking parable deconstructing the absurdity of corrupt Catholic power struggles through a queer lens, or an honest look at the genuine emotional fallout of people caught up in the consequences of said power struggles.
So we're left with a climax where we're not particularly invested in what should be a high stakes moment - despite the actors' commitment - but it's also not a high-octane comedic climax of hilarious absurdity. Instead we get a rather unsatisfying middle ground.
However, while the inventiveness of Blinkhorn's writing in earlier scenes is ultimately let down by her final act, it's still - in part thanks to the wealth of top tier theatre-making craft on display - one hell of a debut.
Reviewed by Kit Harper
"Cadaver Synod"
Director Mathew Lee
Actors Nat Jobe, Luke Fewster, Mark Langham, Leon Walshe, Diego Retamales, Yasna Delo
Writer Ruby Blinkhorn
Assistant Directors Zoe Hollyoak, Dom Purdue
Set and Costume Designer Alice Vance
Lighting Designer Frankie Clarke
Composer and Sound Designer Cameron Smith
Fight Choreographer Diego Retamales
Intimacy Coordinator Trish Speers
Stage Manager Alex Liang
Producers Morgan Owen, Zoe Hollyoak, Bella Sham
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