My overall impression
Behavior:irritability, hypervigilance, aggression, hostility, screaming
Mood: emotional distress, anger, homelessness, nervousness
Psychological: hallucination, severe anxiety, mistrust, flashbacks
The above lists what a person struggling with PTSD may experience. These are very strong and extremely fierce reactions to the stress and intensity of war. They are also the emotions and behaviors you are acutely aware of during Sean Toops’ self-written play, What Be G*d is Blessing.
The stage is set as how one would expect to see any number of typical homeless camps, certainly indicative to the daily scene of LA’s notorious Skid Row.The theater shares walls with surrounding theaters, adding a layer of noise. This would detract as well as distract the audience during any other performance, but instead aids in transporting the audience to the scene being portrayed. Due to the smaller scale of theater and stage, one is provided a more intimate if not a mintue awkwardness, lending to the feeling of the truly raw emotion accomplished by Topps.
Don’t miss a mesmerizing performance and portrayal of the truly heartbreaking reality of the extreme difficulties a vetran returning home faces when suffering PTSD.
