Karl 8028

See it if you're interested in the ways mental illness and trauma bring people together to meet their needs for belonging and safety.

Don't see it if you're likely to be triggered by staged violence or portrayals of emotional abuse or neglect.

Also Cult-themed narratives often fail to take into account the genuine reasons people find themselves bound up with one another; Topher Cusumano's doesn't. The Soul Scouts experience authentic moments of insight and relief, even as nightmares unfold around them; the tightness of their community speaks to deeply woven bonds of vulnerability; they expect a lot of each other. One gets the sense that, with proper leadership, they could very well ultimately be healed and usher in something of a matriarchal utopia among themselves. The play cares less about the strange things that happen in cults than it does about the systems of unmet needs that make cults a social necessity in the first place.

Clocking in at 2.5 hours, THE CULT PLAY moves like a well-paced miniseries, with intermezzi of chant and ritual dance that lend a symphonic texture to the evening. The cast is well rounded and sympathetic, especially Stacey Raymond as the new recruit (and audience stand-in), Mae. Not to be missed!... Read more Read less