In the Eyes of God

By Raul Sanchez Inglis

"There's no business like show business," and if you ever had any doubt about that, In the Eyes of God will bring you back to your senses. A vicious, vulgar, unsparing and grotesque look at the talent agencies that remake the Hollywood stars and tabloid personalities out of the willing clay of their own flesh, the greed, avarice and banality laid bare in this play would be horrifying if it weren't so funny, and laughter is our only defence when somewhere deep down in what's left of our souls we know this portrait of rank, speculative, self-interested capitalism to be true.

Originally conceived as a play about car salesmen, it wasn't until its writer/director Raul Sanchez Inglis went to Hollywood on a business trip that he found a setting true to his vision of sales as the ultimate cash machine. Two rival agencies are competing ruthlessly to sign the "promising" young screenwriter/filmmaker Edward Foster, yet nowhere throughout the play is the title, much less the subject of his project, ever mentioned. Sure, "people are looking at it," he is told, but only as a vehicle to reposition themselves at the trough of the Hollywood star machine is left unsaid. That's because concern about content, product and people is always an impediment to the efficient maximization of any sales campaign. What is being fought over in this ultimate exercise of social Darwinism is the promise of a dream--a dream of riches, fame, success and public adulation everyone is willing to pay for, to offer their bodies for, to sacrifice their loved ones for, to die for. If the corporate hedonism of America that gave us Robert Milliken, Gordon Gecko and Enron is reflected in the eyes of God, then those eyes are made, as we might have suspected, of celluloid.

Cast of 3 women and 4 men

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0889225613
• ISBN13: 9780889225619
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Talonbooks
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Reviewed by Barb Radmore

This play pulls no punches, is not for anyone who is not willing to see the world of show business portrayed at its basest. It is the tale of two competing talent groups fighting over a screenwriter. Edward Foster is torn between two representatives- the one he has accepted that is now run by two men, Richard and George, and the rival, female agency led by Linne Callow. Edward must sort out who he want to represent him as he also tries to accustom himself to this new role that fame may bring him. His lonely wife is not impressed with the changes in her husband. The plot is basic but in Inglis hands it becomes unique and hard hitting. Readers who are not interested in stretching the boundaries of the common, usual drama will not like this play. It takes the solid perimeters of traditional comedy/satire and pokes holes right through it. This tale of greed and egos set in the land of Hollywood ends in twists that turn and dangle like a hangman's rope. It is not a nice story without any decent characters, they do not talk nicely, they do not act nicely.The dialouge and action are directed towards the To open this book and expect anything less than the absurd and the over the edge would be a mistake. It is satire, not written for laughs but for honest groans and moan of disgust. It meets that ghoulish goal well. Talon Books has brought another quality work to the published word. The willingness to expand beyond the common place and trite is a well appreciated gift to modern literature.