Review: Kingdom of the Lie
Picture: Image credit: Creative Futures Photography
I am a huge fan of Brisbane’s PIP Theatre, which provides smaller performance spaces for new work. The annual, curated Toucan Festival is a fabulous PIP initiative, giving a local and visiting talent the opportunity to test out new one-hour works in a cabaret program that includes theatre, music, comedy, burlesque and more.
There are many films, pieces of musical theatre and plays where a contemporary lens has been brought to biblical stories—perhaps most memorably in Jesus Christ Superstar and, in a more ironic and comedic vein, in the Monty Python Life of Brian. Which meant that I was intrigued by the promotion of Kingdom of the Lie as a ‘surreal ensemble performance,’ and ‘heavy metal musical-theatre work based on the classical biblical text the ‘Book of Ezekiel’. And, as the Kingdom of the Lie is directed by the talented Amy Chien-Yu Wang—who wrote, produced and directed the impressive AI May—I anticipated that Kingdom of the Lie might be a show worth making time for.
Key themes in the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel include God's holiness and presence, individual responsibility, and Israel's future renewal. Presented and written by Igor Ejmont, Kingdom of the Lie draws heavily on the words of the prophet Ezekiel, concentrating on the misdeeds of the city residents, the difficult journey of the prophet, and the challenges of being heard. It is a great idea, but a show that I feel needs much further work.
The Kingdom of the Lie soundtrack is certainly of the heavy metal genre, where the often vigorously spoken songs are a blend of musical theatre and heavy metal. The production relies heavily on the hard-working ensemble (Rose Traynor-Boyland, Courtney Patten, Chantè, and Theodore Szathmary)—appearing in supporting roles that include as a sacrificial lamb, and as consorts of the king—alongside the two leading actors who portray the tormented Ezekiel (Robert H. Wainwright) and complacent King Nebuchadnezzar (David Gaffney, in a portrayal that reminded me of the Superstar Herod).
The rapturous response of the opening night patrons suggests that there is an audience for this work, but I found myself thinking about the ways in which it might be further developed or reimagined. Having musicians on stage, and microphones for the vocalists/ensemble, might provide the opportunity to make this a more contemporary rock concert-meets-musical-theatre event. Or, perhaps adopting a Pythonesque spin on the challenges of being a prophet, and of trying to encourage a more virtuous life, would provide the opportunity to get to the heart of messages about accountability and of encouraging communities to move away from self-indulgent lives. Alternatively, a more serious reflection on the biblical text, perhaps placed in a contemporary setting, might be a better way in which to convey the intended messages about ‘how always seeking the ‘quick fix’ in life leads our own lives to collapse.’
Kingdom of the Lie is, in my view, a very niche show. Congratulations to the team for having the courage to develop this challenging new work, and for testing it out with audiences at the PIP Theatre Toucan Club. It just didn’t work for me.
One of the many great things about the Toucan Festival is the sheer variety of shows, and also the opportunity to add in an extra event to your evening line-up with the good value ‘2 show deal.’ So if you are intrigued, and want to see what YOU think, why not consider booking a 2-show deal.
Audience information: Kingdom of the Lie, Toucan Club, PIP Theatre, 20 Park Road, Milton (29 November–13 December 2025). Tickets $30-$37 (plus transaction fee of $3.3). 60 minutes, no interval. Suggest 18+. The production includes religious themes/imagery, uses profanity, and has representations of death, human and animal sacrifice, and orgies. It contains loud sounds and occasional flashing lights.
The reviewer attended the Saturday 29th November 2025 (5:30pm).