AK Golding and Sasha Clarke star in The Messiah Complex, a mindbending psychological philosophical thriller from multi Off West End Award nominated company Bag of Beard.
A possible future, where faith is forbidden. You cannot believe in anything which cannot be proven. And the Complex are watching. Making sure that you don’t.
But one man still believes. Even though they stole his memories and edited his dreams – he remembers what they did. And they remember what he did, too.
A post truth fable. A morality tale about taking belief to extremes.
The Messiah Complex is at VAULT Festival 14th – 19th March 2023
You’re starring in The Messiah Complex at VAULT Festival, what can you tell us about the show?
Sahsa – Bag of Beard’s latest and maddest work to hit the stage, is an impassioning philosophical thriller. It throws compassion, empathy and personal convictions up in the air, and takes you along with it. It’s exciting. Without spoiling it, I can confirm it’s very exciting.
AK – The Messiah Complex is a thrilling exploration into what our world could look like 100 years in the future, under a strict prescriptive government regime, an atheist regime. The ruling Complex have controlled the public via violence, culling a load of people, burning all religious texts, destroying all the places of worship and their ethos is “what can’t be proven is forbidden”.
We meet Sethian (Anthony Cozens), who is being questioned by the Authority for his involvement with this underground religious cult, that my character, Sophia, is a big part of.
What was it about the script that made you want to be part of this production?
AK – I have always been a big fan of Bag of Beard. I like their experimental style with content and form. I think their productions are always visually entertaining and captivating, quite Gothic and taboo, almost. I wanted to be a part of that. And also, with this play, playing with the idea of what kind of society we live in, religion’s place within that, what that looks like when it’s taken away.
I personally haven’t subscribed to a religious way of life, but the antithesis of that, how it might feel to live a life completely prescribed with your beliefs condemned if you don’t yield to the rules. I think it reflects on our society in a very pointed and deliberate way. It’s exciting.
Sasha – I was really drawn to the possibility of telling the tale of a world of extremes. There’s very little politeness about the dialogue, and each character has to approach their set of circumstances fearlessly at all times.
I find that thrilling, in a script. I was also drawn to the opportunity to be part of the collaborative process of determining the rules, what can and cannot be and where we stand amongst it. Possibility and openness is a real treat.
Tell us a little more about your characters, what do you like most about them?
Sasha – I play The Nurse. The Nurse is part of The Complex, passing down useful information and helping to educate its inhabitants. The thing I like the most about The Nurse is their instincts. Although she has a job to do, and a system to uphold, she’s ready for whatever comes her way. She’s not entirely without heart and certainly not without fault.
AK – There are three characters in the play – Sethian is the protagonist who has just been captured by the Authority, and the Nurse is the face, or one of the faces, of that Authority. She is questioning Sethian, who is imprisoned within it. Throughout their back and forth, he is reminded of the memories of a time before he was captured, when he was living with Sophia, my character.
They were essentially “plants” for their Cult, and had a mission to carry out. The three characters in the play are all on a sliding scale of extremes – the Nurse who works for the Complex, Sophia who is the rebellious energy of the Cult and Sethian, who has experiences of both working for the Complex and also trying to destroy it. I think they’re amazing characters and extremely well written.
What do you think you’ll find most challenging about the role?
AK – I think the content, what my character believes wholeheartedly in, what she has to do for the betterment of the world – the toll is quite high, without any spoilers. The play has quite horrifying elements. But she is extremely fun to play and I love acting opposite Anthony and Sasha, and what Bag of Beard have written is very fun to play. It’s all very schemey and as an actor that is just delicious.
Sasha – I think I’ll find their coldness challenging. However, I reckon her line of work would be enough to desensitise most of us. Although The Nurse doesn’t have a huge amount autonomy in their circumstances; I wish she’d handed her CV in somewhere else and lived a different life, with more capacity for empathy and the occasional bunch of flowers. But, I’m very game for a challenge.
What do you think audiences will take away from The Messiah Complex?
Sasha – I think the audience will take away a renewed sense of the things that are precious to them. When presented with barrenness and scarcity; we take more care to appreciate things we hold dearly. That would be nice. Or … The audience will take away a fear of being left alone in a room with AK, Anthony or myself. That is also a possibility.
AK – It makes you want to understand where we’ve come from – historically, religiously – on our journey. We allude to different sets of beliefs, different texts, the origins of Christianity and how what we have received now has gone through a process of storytelling and changes, amendments, exploring who becomes the prophet for a belief.
Without taking anything away from religious people, we’re examining different methods of control and oppression, and the oppression of women. It reflects how faith has shaped our history, and what role governments might play in that, I hope that people go away thinking about the structures that we live in and questioning that. Especially with the strikes at the moment, I think it’s important that we’re seeing this rallying cry for making up your own mind and exploring what you truly think.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see The Messiah Complex?
AK – Just do it. I walk away from every rehearsal feeling more and more excited. Bag of Beard have made some magic and I hope to see you there.
Sasha – I would say a few things, but I’ll keep it short and hopefully sweet.
Number one – Thank you.
Number two – What a fantastic idea!
Number three – What is the worst that could happen….?
