Review: LOCUSTS HAVE NO KING at New Conservatory Theatre Center

The West Coast Premiere of C. Julian Jiménez's Locusts Have No King is a gripping exploration of two gay couples in deep trouble, not unfamiliar fare at NCTC. The fact that all four are priests having a crisis of faith adds a theme I've not seen exposed in gay theatre. Sure there' a lot of camp bitchiness gay audiences feed on amongst the four characters whose cloistered closeted existence and past infidelities brews into a disastrous dinner party, but there's a more important didactic on living your truth and reconciling that with your religious faith. It makes for compelling, unexpected theatre that shocks and educates.

We first meet pot smoking Jonathan and Marcus mid-fellatio. They're preparing for a dinner party with friends Matthew and Lucus, but there's tension. Seems Jonathan and Lucus have a past, and jealousy abounds. Matthew arrives first and he's awkward and troubled by his partner's past dalliance. Lucus arrives drunk, having just given last rites to a beloved parishioner. Interesting that their names are very close to apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and each will deliver a bible parable pertaining to the play's action.

The dinner party devolves into open warfare over the couples' relationships, but eventually into a battle of living as a gay man in a system that abhors them. It begs the questions of why a gay man would join the church, the hypocrisy of gay sex amongst priests and how to reconcile the faith and truth if possible. When Matthew decides to bolt his vows, the other three panic. He can't rock the boat and potentially expose his friends. The finale is a cross between Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and The Exorcist with supernatural effects and a shocking denouement.

The cast is believable with emotionally raw performances delivered by Matthew Bridges as Matthew, NCTC faves Donald Currie as Jonathan and Daniel Redmond as Marcus and Nathan Tylutki as Lucus. Director Richard A. Mosqueda keeps the wild action intensity level ratcheted up while Devin Kasper's scenic design, props design by Jorge R. Hernández, and Spense Matubang's spooky lighting heightens the otherworldly aspects.

Locusts Have No King exposes the strains of living a closeted hypocritical life and its terrible consequences. Placing it inside the Catholic church where over 50% of priests may be gay is the ultimate example of the disparity that still exists.

Locusts Have No King continues through May 14th. Tickets available at boxoffice@nctcsf.org or by calling 415-861-8972.

Photo Credit: Lois Tema