‘Hello! Is anyone there?’ asks the very ordinary Earl Hunt, having found a business card for the Hope and Trust Foundation, which claims to offer a hotline to the divine. After a series of bizarre personality tests at their grungy premises, Earl wakes up – drugged and robed – at the feet of an elderly looking man, who may or may not be God. But is this the real deal or a grotto for grown-ups?
There’s too much repetition and a few longueurs but, at its best, Joe Harbot’s kooky comedy combines Kafkaesque bewilderment with the daftness of Douglas Adams. Straightening out vast metaphysical paradoxes into customer-friendly language results in some cracking gags. It’s more than a string of jokes, however, and Harbot neatly skewers the commodification of faith.
Better when disorientating than menacing, Joe Murphy’s snappy production doesn’t quite manage to ground the metaphor in a reality, but it boasts some great performances. Nick Blood nails the awkward comedy as dim receptionist Jim and Will Barton makes a delightfully manic manchild of Mr Hope.