The Revolution’s Chaos Review

It’s not often that a stage production incorporates Christian values, graphic scenes of sexual degradation, slapstick comedy and philosophical debates on racial prejudice into a single night of performance. However, “Chaos”, the debut performance of the acting group known as “The Revolution,” is not the run of the mill show.

In fact, unlike most performances, “Chaos” will likely never be performed again. A collection of vignette features, with stage performances, short movie segments, and even stand-up comedy routines, Chaos was done with the sole purpose of introducing The Revolution’s unique style and ideas to the public before they begin officially touring in 2015.

A collection of more than 100 performers from wildly diverse backgrounds, The Revolution is organized into a collection of subgroups dedicated to a particular theme of performance or product. For instance, the group “Honor Father” is dedicated to material focusing around Christian themes, the group “Rainbow People” focuses on alternative love and lifestyles, and the group “The Stoopids” dedicate themselves to outrageous, over-the-top comedy.

While the diversity of groups might sound like a chaotic mix, the vignettes are unified by the talents of a single writer and director, a man who identifies himself only as Ross. For the most part, Ross succeeds in tailoring his material to play toward the strengths of each group, while also presenting an underlying thread of commonality that keeps the audience from feeling completely lost after transitioning between such diverse subject matter.

The individual performers of The Revolution vary in levels of talent, and while one speaker suffered an unfortunate attack of nerves and forgot his lines while introducing the next segment, overall the show was well executed. Performances of a paticular note came from actress Felicia Tameka-Sheppard and actor Mark Ridley.

Tameka-Sheppard, starring as the titular character of the segment called “Kill Ponshits,” is hands-down the comedic star of a show that would still be fairly funny without her. Her portrayal of the loud-mouthed, sexually abusive Ponshits manages to be simultaneously terrifying and outrageously hilarious, and is certain to leave audiences gasping in shock.

In comparison, Ridley has a relatively minor role in the comedy segment “Death Body Consequences,” playing a nameless, inebriated landlord. Ridley contributes greatly to the overall humor of a story of two men awaking to find the female member of their menage-a-trois dead of an apparent overdose, and their subsequent attempts to dispose of the body without their roommate’s knowledge. However, while Ridley shines in a comedic role, his ability to transition from crass humor to deadly seriousness allows the comedy’s twist ending to go off without a hitch.

Overall, the performers of The Revolution provided thrilling, thought-provoking entertainment in a style reminiscent of comedy sketch shows, and are well worth keeping an eye out for when they begin performing for the public in early 2015.