"Dark comedy" is no more than lack-lustre humour in Stairway to Heaven.
Workmen drinking beer, talking about religion, politics, food and sex, makes for some great dialogue. Particularly when their construction site is a pyramid in 2700 BC, the beer is spiked with piss, the religion involves sun gods, politics is about slavery and the sex is with each other.
At first glance, Stairway to Heaven probably has one of the most dubious premises in theatre at the moment. But writer Steve Hennessy has created a group of personable, comical co-workers with a suitably callous boss to keep his audience entertained as he explores human motivation and the deluded notions that makes us really work.
In the searing heat of the dessert, young Makhthon (James Ronan) nervously gets started on some back-breaking pyramid construction sites alongside the cynical Hiksos (Nicholas Cass-Beggs) and the humorous Geb. It's Matthew Ward's brilliant delivery of one-liners in his comical portrayal of the down to earth Geb that carries this play. That and Makhton's timeless question, “What's the pyramid for?”. Granted the specific wording may have altered over the years but being a cog in a machine often too big to comprehend is something Ronan gets across well through his fresh-faced Makhthon.
However, the decent acting in this production isn't enough to make up for the lack of intrigue. Events unfold rather predictably. Among the gory off-stage acts, there aren't many surprises on stage. To Henessy's credit he makes the contemporary language work well in a historical setting but this often diminishes much of the potential for drama and never really makes clear what he's trying to say.
If the workmen are building a stairway to heaven to satisfy someone else's beliefs, the extent of religious absurdity is tackled well enough. But this play seems to touch on so many other themes that no clear comment comes through. Male bonding is scratched at, though mostly in a violent and sexual sense which might highlight an uncommon view of homosexuality in ancient Egypt but seems like an attempt to insert sinister drama where it doesn't belong.
An ambitiously conceived production, the themes in Stairway to Heaven are too thin and the drama lacks potency, but at only an hour long, the acting and the humour might make it worth your time.
Stairway to Heaven runs at Blue Elephant Theatre until 10th July
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