Review: THE SODOMITE, VAULT Festival

The Sodomite begins with a voicemail being left by Father Michael McCarthy explaining the meaning of the Old Testament story of Sodom and Gomorrah, leading to the entrance of Angel Aiden, the narrator of the show.

He has a simple yet effective angel costume with a fuzzy white halo and large white wings, along with an incredibly sparkly outfit. Angel Aiden tells the audience that he has been sent to "judge the shit" out of humanity and sets the tale in Sodom, a city with "Euphoria vibes" that was rumoured to be blown up by God because of the sexual promiscuity of the people living there, which many use in modern times to justify homophobia in the Catholic Church.

Throughout Angel Aiden's telling of the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, there are several songs sung, most of them parodies of hits like Tavares's "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" introducing us to the narrator of the story, Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" pointing out the irony of how nothing has really changed between the "old times" and the "new times", Icona Pop's "I Love It" explaining how Angel Aiden loses his faith by partying with human son Earth, and a hilarious yet rageful version of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" that explains how homophobia became a major subject in the Catholic Church.

As someone who went to a Catholic school, I found myself commiserating with others in the audience who were fellow "Former Followers" of the Church, particularly in one moment in which Angel Aiden says "Peace be with you" and several of us quietly muttered "And also with you" in response with trepidation. To quote Angel Aiden, "I can sense the fear . . . I can sense the shame . . . It feels like home". There were a few references spread out throughout the show that, in a way, made all of the suffering through Bible class worth it for the funny jokes.

While the show was quite entertaining, there were some aspects that took away from the performance as a whole. Aiden's microphone was quite loud, making the sections in which he would be yelling for a stronger effect slightly painful for the ears. When listening to Father McCarthy's voicemails and his conversations with Aiden, it was difficult to understand what he was saying, both because of his accent and the sound level. A section in which the prophet Abraham loudly sings a parody of The Music Man's "Ya Got Trouble (In River City)" about the dangers of sex and how it will lead to paedophilia feels out-of-place.

The highlight of the show is not one of the song parodies, the conversation with Father McCarthy or the witty banter, though all of these are quite amusing. It is actually a monologue at the end of the show that compares the story of Lot's Wife looking back at her home of Sodom to the relationship gay men have with the Catholic Church after being raised Catholic.

Ultimately, The Sodomite is a fun show that will amuse audience members through song and story, especially those who grew up Catholic and feel ostracised from the religious community. Even with some sound errors and slightly confusing voicemails, Angel Aiden does a lovely job of winning over the audience and making a beautiful point about "the dignity of being a person" regardless of sexuality.

The Sodomite runs at the VAULT Festival from 21 to 23 February at The Flair Ground with performances at 6:45 PM.

Photo Credit: VAULT Festival

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