NUNS WITH BAD HABITS PULL IN THE CROWD
Sister Act Bord Gáis Energy Theatre
T‘Without the old fashioned regalia there wouldn’t be much to laugh at’
Until Oct 1 ★★★☆☆
here’s no doubt that Sister Act delivers lots of feelgood entertainment with some hot gospelling hallelujah-style razzmatazz, and that the audience loved it. But it walks an uneasy line between entertainment and irreverence, and has farcical and occasionally cringe-making serious moments. The comedy is pretty low level: the humour depends almost totally on having nuns kick up their heels and robes, as they warble, dance and wave. Without the old-fashioned regalia there wouldn’t be much to laugh at.
As usual too, the stage nuns are a bit dotty, shocked by anything from the outside world, and go round all day either blessing themselves or with their hands joined prayerfully. Except for the martinet Mother Superior who eventually finds the meaning of love as she sings I Never Had a Prayer.
The nuns of course are a hopeless bunch of tone deaf screechers until they’re smartened up by the arrival of Deloris, an unsuccessful night club singer who’s on the run from her killer boyfriend because she witnessed a murder – shades of Some Like It Hot. As played with gusto by Sandra Marvin, Deloris carries most of the action, beltas ing out the dizzy high notes in the score with classy aplomb.
It never seems to dawn on the nuns that Deloris is not really a nun although she’s obviously out of place in a convent as a Lamborghini in an old crocks race. Never mind: within five minutes she has the screechers singing like an angelic choir. They’re so good that newspapers and magazines give them write-ups and they’re selected to sing for the Pope. And the money they bring in from the hugely increased congregation ensures the church won’t be sold to a bunch of antique dealers: the initially gloomy priest becomes a swinging hipster. The show is slow to get moving and it doesn’t really take off until well into the first act, although a lot of the lyrics are sharp-edged, especially those given to the nasty mobster, contrasted with his murderous gang of three hit men who behave like characters from a Three Stooges film.
To show it’s all very serious, we’re eventually expected to feel empathy for the nun who sings about The Life I Never Led, and Deloris has a battle with her feelings that leads to a Spartacus-like confrontation. And as usual, the wicked mob boss delivers a long speech before shooting Deloris, giving the cops time to stop him and leading us into a roof-raising blasts of Spread The Love Around and Raise Your Voice.
The performances are all top class, and Clive Rowe as the good cop Eddie has some fine moments, including his rendition of I Could Be That Guy.