Synopsis

The opening scene to Marcia P. Samuels’ extraordinary theatrical production starts out on a Sunday morning with Pastor Allgood and his congregation at the local church.

Unlike any other Sunday mornings, where millions across the world go to church, Allgood, a moralist, puritan, a so-called avid preacher man, goes to HELL.

Surrounded by the screams of tormented souls, terror grips hold of Allgood. A terror that would take him into the realms of everlasting agony played over and over like a broken record.

Imagine a murderer, drunkard or drug addict desperately searching for another fix, another injection, or another pill. Never going cold turkey, never losing the urge, but never realising that there are absolutely no drugs in this Domain. Imagine ending up in Hell.

If for a moment one thinks that at some point the torment that is hell will be over for these lost souls, it is not. There is no rest in hell; Satan clarifies that when he says: “Forever, do you know how long forever is…and if your human intelligence could even fathom how long forever is, you would not have imagined a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of forever. Because just when you think FOREVER is over, it starts all over again.” And for Allgood, FOREVER is too timeless to spend in this place.

Even in this place of unspeakable sorrow, Allgood’s faith in God is unwavering, and when asked by Satan, to deny God, Allgood, boldly replies, “I don’t know why I am here, but I know that God loves me with an everlasting love.” Allgood’s steadfastness in holding onto that, which he has spent his life believing in, connects the audience to Allgood’s pain and causes each to draw their own conclusion thorough their own lives’ as to why he is there. Amidst the torment, there is a ray of hope that shines through the story, that maybe, just maybe, Allgood needs to go through this.

Amidst the torment, there is a ray of hope that shines through the story, that maybe, just maybe, Allgood needs to go through this. If not for himself, then for that man, woman, or child, standing on the threshold of good or evil, right or wrong, life or death. Maybe Allgood’s story is a lesson in life, but more so a lesson in eternity. Tell Hell I ain’t coming is a thought provoking, frightening, yet a powerful play not to be missed.