JADAR

★★★☆☆

A Divine Comedy, written and performed  by Sam Buttery, is an exciting work in progress piece to keep an eye on, as a retelling of the story of Harris Glenn Milstead or, better known as, Divine. This piece – a mix of autofiction, scene-work, music and touching monologues – is sure to make you laugh and cry. Anyone interested in the history of queer culture and the drag world should invest time into this production, as this show has a lot of potential. The script follows a wildly charismatic trio who had a natural talent for ad-libbing and audience interaction – leaving every audience member in shambles.

The performance was particularly strong when the actors were free from worrying about hitting marks in their script. Understandably, the production was remarkably fast paced – only allowing the cast and crew two and a half days before opening night and being marketed as a work in progress. Though this was noticeable, there was still a natural ability to showcase the story. The performers were real people – responding to their natural mistakes, encouraging one another and even jokingly berating late audience members. Their chemistry was electric and allowed for a beautiful night out.

The concept of the production would entice audiences to believe there is a connection between this script and Dante’s inferno, or The Divine Comedy. However, I think there was a difference between the brilliant concept and the delivery. I think this begins with my issues with the script, as there are some inconsistencies between the narratives that could be fixed with a reworking of the script – I think dedication to the history and story of Divine would resolve these issues.

Along similar lines, I believe with more dedication to the acting in scenes, dramaturgical work on the narrative, additional memorisation and differentiation between characters (specifically their accents) can truly transform this piece into a truly shocking drama suitable for fringe audiences. Each performer was brilliant in their own way – between natural comedy, devastating monologue work, and thrilling crowd work. 

Finally, I think I can only encourage narratives of this style to continue to grow and gain traction. I was excited to watch a highly provocative, outrageous and authentic depiction of the origins of drag but felt like there was a timidness in the script. Buttery is utterly brilliant, remarkably hilarious, and has an outstanding on-stage presence – not to mention Buttery’s show-stopping vocal arrangements – and I wanted them to continue the energy throughout the show. Buttery hit the highly emotional and raw energy that is demanded from Divine – however, I wanted to see more.

I believe the main piece of feedback would merely be on memorisation and a majority of the issues would resolve with more time placed into the piece. This was my first encounter with the brilliant Sam Buttery, and I am beyond excited to continue to follow their work. All performers were an absolute riot on stage. I cannot wait to watch where the show continues to go. 

A Divine Comedy makes for a stunning piece of theatre and is worth keeping your eyes on. The show is fast-paced, devastating, emotionally raw, hilarious and authentic – an ever growing list of praise can be found in this show. I cannot wait to see it again.