An alcoholic bucolic frolic

DramSoc’s spring term production of _Jerusalem, _directed by Grace Surman, opens with a young girl wearing fairy wings singing the eponymous hymn in the middle of the countryside. A peaceful scene until The Prodigy’s Invaders Must Die cuts in and a group of ravers rush onto the stage and scare the fairy away. This sets the tone for the play - constantly zig-zagging between romantic, nostalgic ideals and the reality of the present day.

Jerusalem is set, confusingly not in the Holy Land, but in Wiltshire on St. George’s Day - the day of the Flintock fair. This, then, is a very English play. Not English in the sense of prim and properness (far from it) or even in the sense of cockney gangsters. But English in a way that’s not shown very often - teenagers binge drinking at a caravan in the middle of the woods.

The first thing you notice when you walk into the Union Concert Hall is the set. The stage of the hall is not actually used and instead there are nets and curtains draped and it almost feels as if you could actually be in the middle of a forest. And in the centre of the room is a caravan. Not a crappy made-out-of-wood-just-for-this-show prop caravan (although I must say DramSoc’s props are normally great) but something that looks like it could actually be housing a traveller. The way in which the chairs are gathered around the small clearing, too, gives the sense that the audience has come to visit someone. Of course, all of this would be pointless if the acting was dire. Fortunately, it’s not.

The play revolves around one man - Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron - who sells drugs to kids from his caravan in the woods. He’s much more than that, though, and his battle against the council, a local stepfather and society in general forms the plot of the play. His complete disregard of the authorities, exaggerated stories (he claims to have met the giant who built Stonehenge) and the fact that he’s banned from every pub in the village all make Johnny Byron a very intriguing and engaging character.

This main role was performed to much acclaim by the great Mark Rylance in the original staging of Jerusalem, so there are big shoes to fill. Thankfully, William de Renzy-Martin does a fine job of playing Rooster, and will almost have you believing his ridiculous tales at times. He also does a good job of making Rooster an endearing character, so that even when you don’t believe them, you’ll want to.

Although Rooster is at the centre of everything that happens in the play, this is by no means a one man show. The supporting cast of hangers on who just can’t let go (played by Jack Williams and Edward Bals), wayward kids he seems to attract (Obi Thompson Sargoni, James Hook, Giulia Zerbini, Emily Bates and Elle van Lil), council workers who want to kick him out of his caravan (Sinead Ward and Steven Kingaby) thugs who want to beat him up (Jeff Scott), a nutty professor (Christine Otieno) and even an ex-wife (Agnes Donnelly) are all performed brilliantly.

The characters can switch instantly from creating intensely violent or touching moments to delivering hilarious lines that get the whole audience laughing. Even when they are just listening to one of Johnny’s long stories, the rest of the cast make themselves known and you can hear giggles and jeering in the background. You frequently get the impression that the cast are enjoying the play as much as the audience.

And this is one of _Jerusalem’s _greatest strengths. While the play keeps the central idea of ‘Englishness’ and the messages about modern day society at the fore, it also prioritises having a fucking good time. So it doesn’t matter that the play can feel slightly too long at times, because you’ll fully enjoy spending your evening with Johnny Byron and the rest of his motley crew.

Jerusalem is being performed in the Union Concert Hall in Beit Quad, 12th - 15th March at 7pm. Tickets £7, £5 students.