Richard Marsh caused quite a stir in the West End last year when Dirty Great Love Story opened at The Arts Theatre. That show premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe, and now his new show, Todd & God is having its premiere at The Pleasance Dome.
Richard Marsh plays Todd, a man with a story needing to be told. And, he tells it well in a clever mixture of poetry and prose, conducting vocal acrobatics at every turn. Todd is an ordinary man, a copywriter for Alumni magazines, and always seeming to play second fiddle to his surgeon wife.
So, when the atheist starts hearing God speak to him, he is initially reluctant to add ‘Messiah’ to his long list of careers. The voice of God is played by UK Slam Champion Sara Hirsch, yes, God is indeed a woman. God realises she’s got quite a lot wrong, and Todd, her new Chosen One, is to help her fix these mistakes by forming a new religion, which isn’t as easy as it may sound.
Turns out God is quite a comedian and enjoys a bit of poetry herself, so when Todd is conversing with the disembodied voice it all feels very natural, exactly like the conversation you would have with the omnipotent one if you were given the chance to change the world.
For the most, it’s a funny and endearing comedy and, although it takes a slightly darker turn at the end it, doesn’t lose any of its charm.
Todd & God is a theological comedy drama that will make even an atheist pleased to find God, with plenty of laughs and interesting poetry to enjoy, this is another success story for Richard Marsh at the Edinburgh Fringe.
