the christians

The choir sings an upbeat hymn before Pastor Paul (William Gaminara) stands to deliver his sermon for the evening. “Let us pray.” A few members of the audience bow their heads and jerk backwards in their chairs when they realise their actions. A wave of nervousness passes through the auditorium. This is a theatrical production but all the signs point to a religious ritual. Later, as Paul denounces Church teachings on Hell, sharp intakes of breath can be heard around the room. Set in an American megachurch of unspecified protestant denomination, The Christians is a remarkably effective platform for conversation about tides of faith within the Church and schisms within secular lives.

Lucas Hnath gives us a theatrical Church service in which it’s hard not to be manipulated by the charismatic preacher. In production The Christians certainly feels like a Church – the community choir and mannered, public-facing dialogue welcome the audience and give the impression of a Pastor pulling out all the stops to maintain his influence. Paired with perfectly balanced performances from a cast playing nuanced characters, and everything has the air of the uncanny valley about it.

The whole play is performed in the style of a service, through standing microphones at the front of the stage, whilst characters listen politely in front of the choir, nodding in agreement and taking notes. This is effective for the first half of the play, but as the context of the scene changes and Pastor Paul is still announcing “She said” before his wife (Jaye Griffiths) speaks, it’s confusing. It’s unclear whether the entire play is supposed to be framed by Paul as a narrator or not and that’s perhaps a question that shouldn’t have a clear answer. Either way the main problem with this, besides that it’s a distraction, is that the theological beliefs opposing the Pastor’s are never given the opportunity to hold their ground independently.

I’d like to see The Christians paired with a conversation group or a series of open debates. Ending the conversation at the close of the play seems wrong. It’s very much a play of ideas, opening up discussions and making room for suggestions of how to solve this faith crisis. Because of this, it does feel that the characters are devices to deliver a piece of a puzzle but Christopher Haydon’s direction overcomes this.

The Christians may be a play about the Church but its appeal is more widely spread than a strictly Christian audience. This is a piece that, to paraphrase the text, will give you a “powerful urge to communicate” with and about those away from whom you find yourself insurmountably distanced.

The Christians is playing at Traverse (Venue 15) from 11-16, 18-23 and 25-30 August as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. For more information, visit the Edinburgh Fringe website.