Electric Rosary – Royal Exchange Theatre

This week the Royal Exchange welcome the exhausted nuns from St Graces Convent to the stage in Tim Foleys award winning production ‘Electric Rosary’. Winner of the 2017 Bruntwood Judges Prize, this innovative production depicts the scenario when two very different worlds collide and ‘technology’, in its finest form, is introduced to a struggling Convent.

Writer Tim Foley must be applauded for creating a very thought-provoking concept. Originality in abundance and a fascinating mix of a sense of ‘old school’ religion, a sense of sci-fi, and the issue of what faith means in the future, it is certainly like no other play around. In addition, it is also full of laugh out loud moments. Director Jazz Woodcock-Stewart ensured the cast carried out an exceptional role in combining the fairly serious issue of ‘faith’ and all that this entails for individuals, with the subject of artificial intelligence. In addition, it included some wonderful ‘lighter’ comedic moments suggesting that this play really did have it all.

The story centres around a group of Nuns, Constance (Olwen May), Phillipa (Suzette Llewellyn), Elizabeth (Jo Mousley), Thereasa (Sarosja Lily-Ratavel) and a robot nun ‘Mary’ (Breffini Holohan). As Easter approaches, Elizabeth introduces a council funded robot ‘Mary’, and the story demonstrates the impact that such ‘commonplace’ technology has on a group of Nuns who are living in a very different world. ‘Mary’ is simply miraculous for some of the Nuns but entirely inappropriate and of no use for others. The issue of faith, in either that of ‘a higher being’ or faith in terms of artificial intelligence, divides the Nuns throughout the story, and culminates in a somewhat surprising ending.

It would be remiss not to highlight the excellent Sarosja Lily-Ratavel in her role as Thereasa, the rather goofy, awkward but equally hilarious Nun. Reminiscent of some of the characters the great Victoria Wood may have developed she is a naturally funny actor and certainly suits a comedic performance such as that of ‘Thereasa’. Her delight and utter shock at first meeting Mary was wonderful to watch on stage and her relationship with Mary (Breffni Holohan) came across as very meaningful and in particular, a friendship she had not experienced before. (Or as much of a friendship that could be had with a robotic nun anyway!)

The introduction of ‘the child’ (Yandass Ndlovu) provided a somewhat dystopian angle to the production and perfectly depicted the challenges of two worlds colliding when preconceived beliefs and an individual’s faith are thrown up in the air. Ndlovu demonstrated a wonderful mix of youthful angst and distress with ultimate confusion over trying to do the right thing. An awareness of what was going on at the peripheries of the Convent was constantly hinted at in references to the Luddites and life outside which added to the richness on stage.

Initially concerned as to how a robotic Nun would come across in such a setting, the multiple award winning Breffini Holohan did not disappoint. With many accolades to her name and now that of a robotic nun, she performed to the max, glitches and all. She demonstrated a beautiful transformation over the course of the play as the artificial intelligence suggested some form of understanding of the human form. Her mannerisms changed over the course of the story and went from very robotic to taking on more of a human form. Her ‘intelligence’ developed through mimicking others and eventually depicting what it was to be one of the Nuns. She delivered serious moments and equally laugh out loud moments, such as her ability to mop the floor of the convent again and again and her learning how to ‘hug’ Thereasa.

The set was simple, and the religious artefacts were effective as a visual on stage. A simplistic set worked well with the concepts of the play, the Nuns had a simple life and it needed very little on stage. At times it was a struggle to effectively hear the actors, but it could be put down to movement on stage and the theatre space being in the round. However, the sound in relation to the Nuns singing hymns in the convent was excellent and immediately created an image of tranquillity.

‘Electric Rosary’ is an exciting, innovative, and very original play depicting what it means to be human in the future and in addition, what faith and belief will look like. It is unlikely that you will have ever seen anything like this before. If you fancy a thought-provoking production, that explores the nature of faith and the creation of higher powers, in this case the higher power of God and of artificial intelligence, it is a play not to be missed. This play delivers on many levels from complexities surrounding faith and belief, to its purest delivery which is a very amusing story about the impact a robotic Nun has on a Convent in the age of advancing technology.

Electric Rosary is on at the Royal Exchange until 14th May and tickets available from www.royalexchange.co.uk

Reviewer: Angela Kelly

Reviewed: 28th April 2022

North West End UK Rating: ★★★★