The Church of Zirconium

The Church of Zirconium is a piece of new writing by Will Farrell and Milo Gough which invites us into the world of a poorly run cult populated by the charmingly gormless, the easily led and the downright stupid. As a satire it is not particularly sharp and certainly aims at an easy target, but the play is good fun and keeps the audience laughing throughout. For those enticed by an (almost) celebrity appearance, the disembodied Great Leader of the cult is voiced by Rich Fulcher of The Mighty Boosh.

Visually, the play is extremely strong

As a whole, the cast are engaging and extremely energetic, occasionally at the expense of naturalism. Every now and again, some members do overact slightly, pushing the comedy over the top and losing what should be easy laughs. However, for the most part the balance is just right.

Perhaps the highlight of the play is its set: the sparsely decorated stage coupled with the show’s location in The Caves really adds to the atmosphere and makes the action feel highly realistic. There are also some well-judged multimedia touches and amusing prop- and costume-based gags. In all, visually, the play is extremely strong.

The Church of Zirconium is not a particularly clever or striking piece of satire. It will not open your eyes to the shady world of cults, nor even give you a new perspective on, well, anything really. But there are some decent laughs and the story told is light and enjoyable enough to get caught up in for an hour.