The last few days have been a bit of a blur. I have spent 48 hours inside, either staring dreamily out the window at the mountains of snow, or staring somewhat less dreamily at Netflix. Irritability was rising; both my partner and my cat were snapping at me. Hence, I welcomed the chance to break free of the chains of the snow-in and went and saw The Last Days of Judas Iscariotlast night at Theatre Inconnu.
Written by American playwright Stephan Adly Guirgis and directed by Theatre Inconnu’s co-founder Clayton Jevne, The Last Days of Judas Iscariothumanizes the story of Judas and lets the audience view Judas with empathy, sorrow, and just the right amount of humour.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot’s plot takes place during the trial of Judas. The play uses clever plot twists, with characters in the bible being called into court as witnesses, giving testimonies that will ultimately decide Judas’ fate.
Melissa Blank is brilliant as St. Monica, who bursts out on stage with a saucy Queens, New York accent. Blank also opens the play as Henrietta Iscariot (Judas’ mother) and later closes the play as Jesus.
This is where there could have been big challenges—each of the actors plays about five different roles. Theatre Inconnu is tiny, and the play is large, both with characters and with emotionally driven plotlines. However, they manage to pull it off.
Evan Coates makes his Inconnu debut as Judas, and he gets into character with complete conviction, truly making one’s heart ache for Judas’ plight. David Macpherson slithers across the stage as the sleazy prosecutor Bethos, while Julie Gray dances between good and evil playing both Mary Magdalene and Lord Satan.
The set is simple, with the cast wearing white and the costume changes done on stage, often just with the removing or donning of a hat or cane. The simplicity could be seen as cheap, but with the hearts of the actors booming with enthusiasm, it only adds to the uniqueness of the theatrical experience.
All in all, it was a lovely way to end a snow-in. The actors are talented, and the story is captivating. I always believe that when one is brought to a place of recognizing the humanity in so-called “villainess” characters, then a story is truly good.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
Various times, until Saturday, March 2
$10 student tickets, Theatre Inconnu
theatreinconnu.com