NippleJesus: Tobacco Factory

Monday 29th September 2008

This is a Crackerjack review of NippleJesus. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.

Crackerjack rating: 8 / 10.

It’s a conundrum besetting critics wherever there’s an unnaturally preserved cow on show, and Nick Hornby’s provocatively titled NippleJesus answers with “yes, no and maybe”.

This storming one-man production at the Tobacco Factory welds together an unholy alliance of religion, porn and art to provide an acutely observed and hugely funny critique of hypocrisy in all its forms.

Performed with aplomb by Shane Morgan, the plot centres on bouncer-turned-art gallery security man Dave, who guards a crucifix made from thousands of nipples – a work uncannily reminiscent of real-life artists Jake and Dinos Chapman’s sleaze-strewn caravan, don't you think?

NippleJesus boasts great music – funk, James Bond-esque themes and sensual jazz – all helping to evoke unseen players in Dave’s life as he tells of his encounter with, literally, a con-artist.

And as he asks whether everyone’s stupid, we’re set the challenge of unravelling just who is conning whom. Dave’s own trenchant but limited views are pitted against a slew of others, exposing everyone’s hypocrisy, bigotry and lack of tolerance in the process.

So, what’s the point of it all? The NippleJesus artist herself thinks it’s to ‘be provocative’; Dave just wants ‘a dad with a grey ponytail’ and to be able to ask questions in his life.

The laughs are typical Hornby – laced with testosterone, but with an ol’ softy heart. The chuckles go some way to assuage the suspicion that we are all liable to be taken in by charlatans, given the right conditions. And Roughouse Theatre does a fine job of deluging us with questions and pairing them with  contradictory answers.

Sophie Lomax

This is a Crackerjack review of NippleJesus. Do you agree? Rate and review this event.