A Hard God

A Hard God

Review by Peta Koch

A HARD GOD, which opened at La Boite Theatre last night, would be a black comedy - except that it is too like life itself. Sydney playwright Peter Kenna didn't know whether to laugh or cry at life, religion, family and cultural origins, so he did both with warmth and humor.

The eight-member cast knows what Kenna was trying to say. Set in Australia in the 1940s, A Hard God is the story of an Irish-Catholic family, the Cassidys, and the power their religion has over them.

It is the story of different generations growing up with different values, but most of all it is about how unfair life (or God?) is, even with a firm foundation of love and hope. Ian Leigh-Cooper is Dan, the long-suffering, all-knowing husband, but it is one character Kenna fails to develop to its full potential. Bev Langford as his wife, Aggie, proves herself a character actress of rare talent in her role as the wife who, with a healthy dash of cynicism, breaks the mould by putting her family before religion.

Mike Bridge's sets are as stark and effective as the play itself, 1 which is funny, poignant and well  worth seeing. It continues until June 15.

The Courier Mail, 23 May 1985

Courtesy Bev Langford