Play: The Christians

The Christians, Gate Theatre Notting Hill

It is sobering that on the day that I saw Lucas Hnath's remarkable play The Christians, its topicality was made all too clear by a real life news story. A report came out that Revd. Scott McKenna, minister of Mayfield Salisbury parish church in Edinburgh had described the theological idea that Jesus's death was substitutional sacrificial atonement as 'ghastly'. I wish I could say that the response of online evangelicals had been universally one of respectful disagreement but that would be a lie! Credit then to Hnath that his play manages, without brushing away the dangers of narrow-minded fundamentalism, to represent with respect, thoughtfulness and compassion both the progressive Christians and their more traditional minded peers.

Given the subject matter it's appropriate that the line between drama and church service is blurred. A large glowing cross is flanked on either side by a multiracial choir - in fact made up of the West London Choir and the South London Choir - who belt out a couple of gorgeous gospel songs before Pastor Paul addresses the audience directly with a lengthy sermon. It would be all too easy to fear the worst but in William Gaminara's sensitive performance, this charismatic man whose massive megachurch morphed incrementally out of what was once merely a store front comes across as a compassionate, sincere Christian and one with a surprisingly progressive theology. Haunted by the experience of hearing about a young man giving up his life to rescue his sister from a burning building, the Pastor is convinced that God cannot possibly withhold his mercy from this young altruist just because the latter worships another God.

Yet this liberal theology poses problems of its own. Ghastly as is the notion of this compassionate young man going to Hell, it is hardly less of a travesty of justice than that of an all forgiving God who places the murderer and his victim together in Heaven. Furthermore, if salvation is open to all then why bother being a Christian at all? Such dilemmas are of course hardly new to any thinking Christian but what is striking here is just how intellectually rigorous the script is in tackling them. Such a dilemma is explored not just morally but also theologically as chapter and verse are bounced back and forth between Pastor Paul and his increasingly uncomfortable Associate Pastor Joshua (played by Stefan Adegbola).

Yet The Christians is a play not just of head but also of the heart. What appalls many of his congregants is less this new theology than the fact that Pastor Paul saw fit to keep silent about such beliefs until all debts on his megachurch had been paid off. As played by Lucy Ellinson, the betrayal of one congregant, Jenny, is financial since she gave her scant earnings only to feel duped. In a deeply moving speech, this young single mother laments the division in her conscience between loyalty to Pastor Paul and the pressure from her boyfriend to join the traditional church set up as an alternative by Joshua. Even greater is the betrayal felt by Elizabeth, Paul's wife (Jaye Griffiths).

The Christians is not perfect. There are almost too many ideas for its own good in a relatively short 80 minutes and curiously enough this in itself makes the work feel just a tad overlong, In fact radio would be its perfect home. Yet it is a measure of the play's balance that both liberals and traditionalists could emerge from the experience feeling both validated and moved.

For more information see: www.gatetheatre.co.uk/events/all-productions/the_christians_by_lucas_hnath