God-Belly

Overview

You wouldn't imagine rapping nuns, crumpet demons and explosive bouts of wrestling could go together, but somehow they do in God-belly. The debut work by Pressure Point Collective is a bold exploration of religion and our bodies which jumps between a 13th Century French monastery and an Auckland student flat.

Catherine, a subversive Dominican nun pushes her body to such extremes that a senior monk is sent to keep an eye on her. Jude, a chronically over-achieving arts student, develops a fixation on fitness that starts to jeopardise her relationship with her Christian-stoner boyfriend George. Both Jude and Catherine struggle for salvation but their worlds begin to collapse on each other as they push their bodies to breaking point.

God-belly is an impressive display of physicality. The two performers rap, sprint, and wrestle between several different roles while also operating their own sound and lighting. It's accompanied by a soundtrack which ranges from medieval sacred hymns to fierce contemporary rap.