The Army of Reason

Anyone attempting to tackle the sensitive and complex subject of religious warfare, in any guise, needs to have a strong grip on reality and a clear sense of purpose. Neither of these is evident in James Hammond’s new play. From tense and promising beginnings the flimsy plot rapidly declines, culminating in the ridiculous.

A playwright is stabbed on the night of his controversial new play in the first instalment of meta-theatrical egotism. Almost immediately, The Army of Reason takes arms against what presumably may be termed an opposing Army of Faith, but which never is. The resultant chaos transforms the city into a mess of gunshots, fear and spies – much like any warzone, I would imagine, and herein lies a problem. Despite force-feeding to the audience that religious issues are at the heart of the conflict, the effect of this is never seriously analysed and instead becomes masked in tedious attempts to complicate the plot which a friend and I spent a while after the show unravelling, only to discover that it cannot possibly make chronological sense.

The cast perform valiantly and competently with one obvious exception, and could clearly shine given more coherent material from which to craft their characters. They must also be given credit for struggling bravely through the twee, self-indulgent final act. Hammond is unsure which he is focusing on, the inter-personal relationships between the son and daughter of the murdered playwright, or the bigger picture. Some kind of message about individual and social responsibility occasionally peeks through the melodramatic fog for a rare moment of insight, but for the most part nothing is illuminated.