Brimstone and Treacle

Precisely Peter Production’s staging of the 1976 British written-for-television play Brimstone and Treacle deftly captures the spirit of that time with a very disturbing twist. As with most controversial works, the play has a storied history. Originally slated to air on the BBC in 1976, it was withdrawn due to its upsetting subject matter (the rape of a mentally disabled young woman.) In 1982, a film version starring Joan Plowright, Denholm Elliott and Sting was released, before the play was adapted for the stage and finally found its way home to television in 1987.

The play is a kind of modern morality tale with overtones of horror, a genre that became very popular during the socially repressive and economically stringent 1970s. The script was completed around the same time as the release of the groundbreaking supernatural horror film The Exorcist, a Hollywood feature that would appear to have influenced writer Dennis Potter. Whether or not the film was a direct influence (or there was just something in the air at the time) Brimstone and Treacle belongs to the classic horror genre. The Freudian concept of the return of the repressed thematically underpins the story, and as with The Exorcist, Potter locates the origin of evil not in psychology but in the spiritual or supernatural.

We are introduced to Amy (Brigitte Robinson) and Tom Bates (Rod Ceballos), a middle class couple residing in the North London suburbs with their severely brain damaged daughter Pattie (Nicole Wilson) on the day that Martin Taylor (Scott Garland), a demon or the devil himself (it’s unclear, which is just Satan’s style) comes calling. The play takes place entirely within their home, with Pattie’s bed at the forefront. Wilson is on stage for the entire play, and her performance is as hard to watch as it is impressive.

Tom presents as a classically disgruntled middle-aged British man, a tad on the misogynistic side, whose hostility toward social change is expressed in his racism, homophobia and his membership to the National Front party. Amy is his foil; sweet natured, naive and long suffering. Her desperation for some excitement after two years of caring for her bedridden daughter is what makes her the ideal victim for the diabolical Martin.

Although it is extremely disturbing, in classic British style the play simultaneously features moments of comedy that arise from watching Martin play nice with Amy and Tom, even as he reveals to the audience his sinister motives. Robinson, Ceballos and Garland are all excellent in their roles. Director John Shooter’s vision of the era is realized perfectly with Rachel Forbes’ Fawlty Towers-esque set and Tim Lindsay’s mixture of glam-era Bowie and horror movie music creating an appropriately unsettling ambience.

Don’t miss the rare opportunity to see this fascinating and underappreciated play, in which it is not just the devil that is not what he seems. Brimstone and Treacle runs until May 17 at SideMart Theatrical Grocery (1362 Queen Street East). Click here for tickets.