God will see you now: King's Players rehearse
THERE are no prizes for guessing who would win in a fight between the omnipotent Judeo-Christian God and a little old lady from Yorkshire.
However, whilst the premise of The Ascension of Mrs. Leech is enough to set up some witty dialogue, on paper it is an undeniable reworking of the Bruce Almighty theme. What makes this show delightful is how far beyond that it reaches.
God, aptly played by Ally McDermott as a giant toddler in a shrunken smoking jacket, hands his powers over to Mrs. Leech but the audience are denied a conveniently timed restoration of the old order as a moral.
The majority of the play instead follows Mrs. Leech learning the cause and effect nature of the World as she attempts to fill God’s shoes.
Heaven is a strange place. King's Players rehearse
Removing the possibility of there being a Divine plan is no mean feat, even for a student company. Indeed the studio production values mandatory to producing theatre in Tutu’s will probably stay with the King’s Players in Edinburgh.
Where the effects remains largely teleological the acting ascends to higher places. A sharp script is matched by a cast with superb comic timing, led by Kat Pierce as Mrs Leech as an alarmingly convincing seventy-four year old.
Extra sparkle is literally added by the heavenly host of administrative support.
Championing original writing pays off for The King’s Players, The Ascension of Mrs. Leech is a cosmically good comedy, complete with tea and biscuits.
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