The
Book Of Mormon,
Trey Parker and Matt Stone's broadway behemoth, arrives in London
under the stormcloud of controvery which follows the South Park
creators wherever they go. The show's depiction of a poverty-striken
Ugandan village being saved by two white missionaries has drawn the
wrath of its left-leaning attendees, while conservative voices have
risen in characteristic fury to denounce the mocking of white
religious righteousness.
As
ever, the reality falls somewhere in between the two extremes. Parker
and Stone have long relished holding organised religion to account
for its hypocrises, but shown a more subtle appreciation for the
importance of faith as a concept, even if the material it is attached
to is sometimes questionable. This humanist nuance is also what
salvages Mormon's
depiction of the native Ugandans from accusations of racism. Many of
them speak in ridiculous voices, have unsanitary views on the
appropriate course of action regarding female genitalia (even doing
an uncanny facial imitation in the show's most inspired visual gag)
and show a willingness to embrace ridiculous ideology in the vain
hope of escaping the terror and famine of their everyday lives. What
makes it work is how these stereotypical traits are used as a
smokescreen for an underlying cynicism and self-awareness which the
two white leads, who arrive on the scene with naïve assumptions
about their moral and spiritual superiority, utterly lack in their
total detachment from reality.
Jokes
about an AIDS-afflicted villager having maggots in his scrotum
undermine that subversive wit, and the songs, while amusing, are
nowhere near as memorable or catchy as Parker and Stone's finest
musical contributions to South Park,
either the TV show or movie. The duo's affinity for calling upon
deceased dictators for comedy value remains as one-note as ever, and the backdrops and staging often lack the ambition or
vitality expected of such a production. For better or worse, it's
the stage show you'd expect from the creators of SouthPark
and, perhaps more pertinently, earlier movie musical Cannibal!
Despite
its stumbles, Book
Of Mormon's
ribald sense of humour and subtle notes of empathy carry it over the
finishing line with winningly unfettered gusto.