Anger Box by Jeff Goode

TheatreZone makes its first foray to the Fringe by grappling with the God Question: is God real? is God watching? what are we doing in God's name? and did the Virgin Mary really appear on the freezer door?? Jeff Goode (author of TheatreZone favorites The Eight:Reindeer Monologues and Poona the F%#kdog) jumps headlong into the fray with nine hilarious new angry monologues featuring everything from the sanctimonious to the sacrilegious- and the result is daring, offensive, twisted, fresh, funny, and surprisingly poignant. Jeff Goode is a director, actor and the author of over 50 plays including The Eight (now available in Dutch!). Currently working in television, Jeff has written pilots for Fox, Disney, UPN, USA Networks, Canal Plus, and two for MTV, including the pilot for Undressed, now in its sixth season. His new animated series American Dragon premieres in August 2004 on the Disney Channel. Men in Kilts! In order to bring Anger Box to Edinburgh, TheatreZone launched the Men in Kilts campaign. The Boston Globe reported- 'In what may be one of the strangest fund-raisers ever, the theater company has posted photos of 50 men wearing kilts on its website. (Many of the guys are well know in Boston theater circles and, yes, all posed willingly.)' These shirtless pictures of local actors, directors, writers, even a critic, were held hostage on our website until ransomed off. Sweet on the Royal Mile, 80 High Street August 7-15 at 17.50, £6.50 (£5.50) edinburghguide.com Reivew Nine, naughty monologues are wrapped up in TheatreZone's Anger Box, waiting to explode. But they're hardly the gifts you are expecting, although they appear to be from their deceptive packaging. Ordinary people (for the most part) talking about regular situations - delivering pizzas, dinner orders and Christmas. But then something really ticks them off. 'Fundamentalist crap', lousy tips or terrorist attacks, and they find themselves wondering if God's got anything to do with goodness in the world. Is He the rock of salvation, or just a jester in search of another person to test his next joke on? Anger Box does to religion what XXX does to sex. Presents a controversial concept in a twisted and offensive, yet surprisingly effective way. Don't get me wrong. The comparison is purely on a thematic level. Anger Box could not be more innocently performed. Actors of all ages, conventionally clad for the most part, clutching bibles and crosses as they barely move across a miniature, black-box set. But the suggestive power of the well written monologues is shocking enough to stir up the sacrilegious. Blasphemy, the religious folk would call it. Although the writer Jeff Goode reminds the audience 'that these are things someone else has thought of. Not you.' Still, those of rock solid faith would be wasting their time at this play. It's for those who dare to challenge the Almighty. Some of the finer moments include 'The (drunken) Goddess of Victory's' redundancy as humans opt for participating rather than winning in life. A cynical Santa and pushy waitress taking orders at the restaurant (roadhouse?) on the highway to heaven or hell. Other moments are persistantly punted and somewhat self-indulgent. But Anger Box showcases some of the finest actors I've seen at the festival. And it sure gets the baleful bit of the imagination going. © Marisa de Andrade 11 August 2004 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com | Current & Upcoming Shows | Actor Training Program | Chelsea Youth Theatre | Auditions, Jobs, Volunteering | Past Productions | Links I Chelsea Theatre Works | About TheatreZone | Home | email us