"The God Botherers" at 59E59's Theatre B

Synapse Productions first show of their fifth season will be the american premiere of Richard Bean's play The God Botherers, playing at 59E59's Theatre B from the 24 Feb - 27 Mar 2005. Openimg night is set for Sat 26 Feb.

Somewhere in the developing world lies Tambia, a part-Christian, part-Muslim country where water is scarce, AK-47s are plentiful, the lions are hungry and the locals want email. Laura is a young, ambitious American aid worker on her first assignment. Keith, her supervisor, is a world-weary malcontent just trying to get through the day. Sparks fly when Laura shows up three weeks late, ready to bend the rules to save the world. She soon finds that home seems very far away when the locals steal your magazines, your bodyguard makes passes at you, and your boyfriend dumps you -- to return to his three wives...

The God Botherers users comedy to skewer our preconceptions about religion, globalization, and the sources of poverty and violence in the developing world.

The God Botherers premiered in London when it opened at the Bush Theatre in Nov 2003 to good reviews. The Sunday Times said that "The God Botherers is seriously hilarious and hilariously serious," and The Guardian wrote that the play was "A brutally funny, hotly topical play about the confrontation of western liberalism and Muslim conviction that suggests neither side has a monopoly on wisdom."

The God Botherers will be directed by David Travis, who last season staged 'Animal Farm: The Puppet Musical' for Synapse Productions and will star Heidi Armbruster, Michael Warner, Kola Ogundiran, and Tinashe Kajese.

The God Botherers as costume design by Jenny Mannis, set design by Adrian W. Jones, lighting design by Marcus Doshi, and sound design by Vincent Olivieri.