Snoligoster is no 97 in the Fearsome Critters Database, a list of mythical beings from ‘tall tales’ told by European colonists in North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. They originated, variously, as exaggerated accounts of native fauna unfamiliar to the European travellers who described them, and as a means of describing the strange goings-on in the woods glimpsed by lumberjacks, carnies (carnival/show workers) and other outdoor types. These stories were also used to deter runaway slaves and others attempting to escape the suffocating atmosphere of the southern states, especially Florida in this case. The Snoligoster had an appetite for human flesh and trapped its prey by impaling them using the long spike on its back, later tossing them into a hole in the swampy mud whereupon it would use its propeller-like tail fins to literally mash up its meal ready for ingesting as a nourishing liquid.
The database listing for Snoligoster details a sighting by a Mr Inman F Eldredge who was ‘hunting for an outlaw negro in the swamps’.
“Eldredge’s first impulse was to shoot the strange beast, but upon second thought he concluded that it was doing a good work and was entitled to live on. The very report of such a creature inhabiting the swamps would deter evil-doers from venturing into these wild places to avoid their pursuers and escape justice.”
This revolting and morally repugnant story tells us a lot about the deep-seated racism and xenophobia that continues to run through American society.
‘Snoligoster’
Alphabetti Theatre recently played host to ‘Snoligoster’, an extraordinary fantastical two-hander which is currently touring the UK, complete with the eponymous ‘fearsome critter’ – the last in the world apparently. The show is framed as an outreach exercise by Florida’s tourism team but the Snoligoster soon takes over the show demonstrating its voracious appetite as well as its indoctrination by the anti-abortion, homophobic, religious right and the pro-gun lobby (who consistently got their man Ron DeSantis installed as State Governor since 2019). That’s a lot of weird stuff to deal with and the audience have a role to play in witnessing the education and transformation of the Snoligoster from caged Republican pet to a free-thinking intelligent creature capable of making informed choices based on facts. In that respect Snoligoster is ahead of many voters.
The green-skinned, long-clawed critter, played by Amanda Grace, is reminiscent of Gollum, with its split-personality and growling guttural voice. I wanted a better costume but that’s a minor point. The tourism team are played by Jess Corner who gives a potted history of the land that became known as Florida before it got sucked into the Confederacy of southern states with its extensive plantations and enslaved population. We certainly learn a heck of a lot about ‘Florida Man’, a sub-species prone to doing stupid things which then make for good headlines. There are multiple references in the play to ‘orange’, the fruit and the colour. And of course, we all know who consistently banged on about “Draining the swamp!” – the orange man who has ‘a squirrel on his head’ according to fellow presidential candidate, Bobby Jindal.
The racist killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the mass shooting of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando in 2016 have kept Florida in the news over the past few years, along with the ubiquitous golf clubs, and now the Epstein scandal is putting the focus back on the Sunshine State.
Meanwhile, in Newcastle at Alphabetti, an engaged and appreciative audience paid full attention to a powerful set of images of LGBT+ allies in Orlando wearing white angel wings to protect the funeral procession of a 2016 victim from anti-gay protesters. It was a moving end to a strangely surreal theatrical experience. In the foyer afterwards we were invited to buy stickers to show our support for two US organisations fighting to provide vital services right now for the LGBT+ community and abortion rights.
Snoligoster, the show, moves to The Space in London from August 13-16, with an international livestream on 15 August. Tell your friends.
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