The Book of Mormon

 

I don't often go to the theatre, but I did the other day because I was in London for a social event. We went to the Prince of Wales Theatre in the West End to see The Book of Mormon. This of course refers to a famous book that is claimed to be a missing third testament of the bible. It was published in 1830 by a failed American farmer called Joseph Smith. He claims that the book is based on a golden book shown to him by an angel in 1823. It refers to some previously unreported biblical figures who were followers of Jesus. They fled persecution by crossing the Atlantic Ocean and settling in North America. During the course of his life Smith's movement grew to the point where he established a religious commune. After his death the "Latter Day Saints" continued their evangelical mission and today there are over seventeen million of them. They have many communities around the world, most famously in Salt Lake City, Utah USA. The city was founded by LDS members who considered themselves refugees from persecution in other places. In areas where a lot of "Mormons" live they are rather notorious for their door-to-door preaching. The show begins with a song about how they ring doorbells and try to persuade the person who answers to join their church and be "baptized". The story covers two of these preachers who are sent to a remote community in Africa as missionaries. However, everything goes hilariously wrong and the two men end up compromising their message to make it more comprehensive to the people, and end up distorting it so much that it effectively becomes an entirely new religion. The play is a very irreverent parody of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It has some elements that are politically incorrect and I wouldn't be surprised if the show has been accused of "racism!" The acting, costumes and scenery are very good. Live theatre has become more technically sophisticated in recent years, with clever special effects, probably because of the influence of cinema. None of the cast are famous actors although one or two looked familiar, as if they had minor TV or film roles. It is a very funny musical and its possible offensive nature adds to that humour. The script is full of swearing and it's only suitable for adults. This is to be expected because it is co-written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park fame. It is really about how religious cults can emerge and, if I were in a cynical mood, I would say Joseph Smith decided to invent the story about the gold plates because he needed a new career after his farm went bankrupt. In the same way, did L Ron Hubbard create Scientology for the same reason, dissatisfaction with his literary career? The show is well worth seeing. It's at The Prince of Wales Theatre in Covent Garden, which is clean and comfortable, see: https://thebookofmormonmusical.com/london/.