Marcus Brigstocke - God Collar
Last Saturday saw both “The Heresy Project: Kill Your God” and Marcus Brigstocke’s “God Collar” being performed on the same day at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Both concerned atheism and the place of religion in modern society. However, the acts could not have been more different.
The Heresy Project: Kill Your God plays three times a day at three different venues but the underground vault at The Hive down a back alley of gothic Edinburgh on Niddry Street seemed a fitting venue for such a self-confessing ‘blasphemous comedy act’. Before the show kicks off there is a warning to the shows content, a very strong warning at which people who my easily be offended can leave, or more should leave, now. Their main selling point it seems is down to the fact that England and Wales had banned these god bashing shows (in Ireland they have criminalised blasphomy they say) but they are allowed to do it in Scotland. The show consists of a double act, Rick Molland (from Liverpool) and Sully O’Sullivan (from New Zealand), taking turns denouncing the socially constructed beliefs in gods.
The show culminates in an experiment to determine the non-existence of God when Rick Molland deliberately blasphemes at three gods; Hindu God Vishnu, Muslim God Allah, & Christian God Jehovah in order to provoke a smite or lightening bolt. Each god gets the same level of blasphemous rant but Allah could have been a step too far (and they claim to have been banned in Leeds). There is a 3 2 1 countdown and when Rick isn’t smited he claps his hands at the self-evident proof that there is no God and the show is over.
Throughout the show the guys are able to put through something of a strong argument to the lack of god, but in doing so they act too scientifically and ignore some of the greater foundations that religion has offered us. Much of their arguments are lamented in Man and not GOD and at times the blur the line between GOD, Religion, & Man. To illustrate this they use early on the membership of NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association) and the BNP to underline their argument in which they claim that membership of NAMBLA was made illegal in the US because of what it preaches and thus membership of the BNP should also be made criminal as what they advocate falls against societies norms and values.
At this stage the guys make sense and NAMBLA is a real organisation, but their use of some pop references, Harry Potter, and the Christian Voice president Stephen Green seems a moot point, this section of the show adds nothing to the argument of their being no GOD. One of the oddest parts of their show comes when Rick asks Sully would he prefer to rape white or black chicks, which on its own isn’t funny, and in a comedy debate on the death of GOD makes no sense. And this was their main problem at some instances they made sense; having creationalism taught in schools alongside biology, as well as the fundamental beliefs and the blasphemy laws of past.
One of the strongest and interesting aspects of the shows lays in the argument about belief in general and they use our young belief in things like the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus which as we grow old we grow out of. But the last one to remain is God? The guys also use the Tanna Islanders who believe that Prince Philip is a God – this is a side point but there was a documentary on channel four about them and it was inspiring and they shouldn’t be included in a show like this. Their case here was that they could see their god (as in photos) and there is no evidence in a god so thus there isn’t one, though some image of a Santa added little fuel to the fire.
It’s ironic that they seem to bemoan people’s belief in God, then their entire show is claiming there is no god at which becomes their belief. The show is well written and clearly well thought out, but, it’s not a comedy show, its a very strong and at times angry debate that is so one sided it tilts. I think the guys would have been better suited if they had created the show in a debate format rather than the two of them up on stage, angry, swearing, and making some very lewd comments that seemed only placed to be controversial. The whole bit about Jesus being a rape child was a good bit of writing but only soiled what could have been a good show arguing for an end to organized religion, without a balance they need the show went in one direction, theirs, and by doing so they offered nothing for people who do believe and have faith.
Marcus Brigstocke, on the other hand, cost £15 and was worth every penny. Taking a sensitive approach to what happens once religion is removed from the equation, the TV comic went far beyond losing religion in favour of Sunday afternoon naps.
Sourcing arguments from philosophy, reviewing the popular contemporary athiest authors and even quoting from the Bible, Brigstocke made a sensible and reasoned critique of religion in a way which could not offend anyone. All the usual points were made – about bacon bans, circumcision and women, but with humour rather than judgement.
God Collar explored the meaning of life and death with such intelligence and even-handedness that by the end of the show, the audience were hooked and weren’t even in it for the laughs. People were hanging on every word and were nearly moved to tears by the comedian’s description of his love for his children and his loss of a close friend.
The show felt more like a service by the curtain as every aspect of love, life and suffering had been explored and considered. However, the masterstroke was when Brigstock spent a full three minutes describing the pain of living with an Alzeimers sufferer and still managed to end with a hilarious punchline.
A more sensitive treatment of religion and spirituality in the modern age could not be hoped for.
Marcus Brigstocke is playing at Assembly Hall until the end of August.
