Buried deep down in the shallows of hell, along a fire-lit path and inside a dusty, confined space is a curious little theatre production worth the gloomy descent. Staged fittingly in a Collingwood underground car park, Little Mercy is the latest twisted offering made by the seriously perverse theatre company, Sisters Grimm.
Written by Ash Flanders and Declan Greene and directed by Greene, Little Mercy is the story of Virginia (Flanders) and Roger Summers (Sean-James Murphy), a happily married, affluent couple living in New England. They have everything they ever imagined except for one thing: a child to call their own. On a stormy night, however, an unexpected knock comes at the door and their prayers are answered.
Cheesy you say? It’s absolutely intended to be. Little Mercy is a deliciously camp spoof on all those bad horror films we love to mock. The play calls to mind such films as The Exorcist, The Orphan and Annie, none of which is nearly as horrifying or psychotic (though Annie certainly comes close).
Susie Dee (50) plays Mercy, an eight-year-old child who’s not quite right. She certainly doesn’t look like other little girls and her mature grasp of the English language should be questioned. The Summers’, however, quickly welcome the little girl into their home, too overjoyed to notice Mercy’s irregularities and aversion to crucifixes. Soon enough, the pet cat, Madonna, mysteriously goes missing, Mercy’s teacher, Ms Trentham (Cara Mitchell) is rendered blind by inexplicable causes and poor Virginia is being wrongly accused of hitting the booze. The events that unfold are unnatural indeed…
A brilliant performance by all involved, with special mention going to Flanders for his effortless portrayal of a true American lass – Little Britain’s David Williams couldn’t have done it better himself.
Cara Mitchell, eases into her performance as the disciplinary Ms Trentham. Pay attention and you just might learn a valuable lesson. Mitchell ends up a little too loose in her secondary role as a sex-crazed nun.
The script is loaded with facetious double-entendres and highly imaginative concepts. From a skateboarding, AIDS-ridden cat to a cringe-worthy satanic sex scene, Little Mercy knows no boundaries.
Greene and Flanders should be rewarded lavishly for their witty script-writing and unconventional method of storytelling. They’ve taken a concept that’s been exhausted in traditional productions (unless you’re of the school of thought that there can never be enough evil orphan tales) and adapted it into something wickedly original and entertaining.
This is one for every mother who believes her child is Lucifer himself! This gory freak show will take you on a hysterical ride where you’ll gravely fear for your life just before you accidentally wet your pants laughing – or maybe you’ll wet them deliberately in true celebration of the warped style of the Sisters Grimm.
Little Mercy is playing at the Collingwood Underground Arts Park
48 Harmsworth St, Collingwood
17 – 27 MARCH // 8:00PM Wednesdays to Saturdays
$14/$18
