Wet Dreams with Jesus – theSpaceUK @ Surgeons Hall

Barefoot in black combats and a pink top, Alice excitedly enters the stage with infectious energy and begins an impromptu audience interaction to launch her story. She’s a waitress, originally from Louisiana, but has now found herself in England. The rapid-fire tour of her young life so far then ensues. Her descriptions allude to a youth spent in a geographically idyllic place. The hum of Cicadas, the presence of fireflies and the all-consuming areas of swampland paint an involved and interesting picture of a home where something is evidently wrong. The facade exists to be dismantled and over the next fifty minutes confident direction from Amber Buttery punctuates the framework of Alice’s story. The mise en scene is simple; key props litter the edges of the small stage, an involved lighting plot provides tempo switches to the scenes and broad use of sound effects complete the tapestry of disciplined stagecraft that is present. These slick elements work seamlessly with the acting performance. The venue is hot and a cute addition is heavyweight flyers cut out as fans. The audience appreciated these greatly and their addition reflects on the little things that have been applied to this show.

As a piece of theatre, Wet Dream With Jesus has rock solid foundations which allow writer/performer Alice Way to demonstrate her mettle and Buttery to orchestrate the potential of them both. Adopting multiple characters and personas, characterisations form the backbone of Alice’s storytelling style. Her first fully embodied persona is Mr. Simmons, her High School geography teacher. Affecting him with a stoop, disdained facial expression and a jerky skeletal movement audience interaction opens up the dialogue. The Louisiana kids are dumb. Real dumb and Way brilliantly externalises the experience as the show begins to define its purpose. It’s a journey of sexual discovery and the presentation of Mrs. Wisnatt (sic) the biology teacher is an exercise in pure comedy. Way’s frame is slight so the addition of two audience inflated pink balloons and a blonde wig to present the Dolly Parton style teacher is visual gold. Throw her exaggerated southern inflection into the fold and her explanation of all things sex related gives her complete audience control.

Way has a quirky, defined physicality of her own and commands the audience’s attention. This comes across in all of her respective deliveries and role creations which are multiple. She owns her show and would be a frontline asset in anyone else’s but there are a key considerations that hold this written material back from the excellence of the performance. Despite an amusingly detailed section on ‘Camp Zor’ the Bible camp, there’s not enough religious or specifically related material to understand the point of the show’s title (which also has clearly male connotations). This might be a rare criticism, but it’s clearly hurt the show’s outreach considering it’s evident quality.

There are other smaller problems present. Not all life experiences demand pathos and perhaps ironically, the shows pitch and focus on sexuality becomes incidental to the wider structural form presented. At its height this play wows when Way presents her raw experience and measured acting in linear reality. The anecdotes about the kindness of strangers within her southern community are an example of tender reflections that don’t need comic relief, but a few sections cry for brevity. At times the play can be a little self-indulgent and this poses questions. The actual transition from Louisiana to England isn’t detailed and this could do with a touch more insight for purposes of resolution. Why exactly we care for the character of Alice in the artificial context of the play needs a little more attention, but overall, the strong dynamic partnership between actor and director brings a charisma to this story and platforms this pair as a team to watch.        

Reviewer: Al Carretta

Reviewed: 23rd August 2025

North West End UK Rating: