10th anniversary of the play 'Inigo' by Jonathan Moore

Fayez Bakhsh gave a powerful performance in the London production

It has been 10 years since the world premiere of the play 'INIGO'. The drama has been performed on every continent of the globe, in Ireland, India, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Jakarta, Sydney, Bilbao, and Uruguay. That is, except North America and Canada- thus far!

Why write a play about St Ignatius of Loyola?

Playwright Jonathan Moore said: "Ever since my first retreat in 1985 at the beautiful Jesuit Retreat house of St Beuno's, Wales, I have always been interested, and tried to live by, the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. I went to St Beuno's as a Catholic and enthusiastic young hedonist. That retreat changed my life, and started a process of becoming more authentic, more aware and more alive than I would have been otherwise. I wanted to share this liberation with others.

"The commission came from the late, great English Jesuit Fr William 'Billy' Hewitt SJ. He was passionately committed to telling Ignatius' story in a fresh and vital way.

"He started 'Inigo Enterprises' with Christina Connolly, which shared Ignatius' life and exercises through the Arts. It was Billy who helped me to see that by using Ignatius' simpler birth name of "Inigo", it made him more human, more familiar. A much loved, inspirational figure, full of love and humour, the published play is dedicated to dear Billy.

"The more I researched the play, the more impressed I became with Ignatius. Although his life was packed with dramatic episodes, the main challenge was how to get to know, and dramatise, someone so interior, reflective and private. His "Autobiography" must be the shortest and most concise autobiography ever of a world figure of his stature.

"I also wanted to share the fact that he wasn't perfect. He was human. Flesh and blood. He had his faults and failings. A strong personality, demanding, combative, occasionally erupting with his fierce temper. No, he wasn't every one's cup of tea. He made many enemies as well as devoted friends and followers. He wasn't the plasterboard, forbidding, perfect, solemn saint as which, through the accretions of history, he came to be portrayed."

He was of course a person of enormous drive, self discipline and rigour. But this was a man of passion, humour and an enormous appetite for life. He was what the Spanish phrase refers to as " Todo o Nada". All or nothing. There were no half measures with him. The luke warm and mediocre of this world are intimidated by people like that. From his " all or nothing" commitment to his hedonistic, sensual, street fighting, drinking and gambling youth he, with the very same " todo o nada" devotion, evolved by Grace into the great saint he would become.

Thomas Merton said " For me, to be a saint is to be myself".

Ignatius became his true self too. The play charts Ignatius' journey, with all its challenges and obstacles, to that place. Ignatius shows us that every one of us, however flawed, has the potential to be a saint.

While pious hagiography can be helpful to some, there may be a danger that it can deter other people from living a saintly life because the saints are often portrayed as so perfect that they are impossible to emulate. I wanted to portray Ignatius as he was: a human being very much engaged with the bustle of the world as most of us are. Finding God in all things. And still burningly relevant.

Inigo's Spiritual Exercises changed the world. Its influence can be seen from his own time via Shakespeare to the birth of modern Psychotherapy and beyond.

The play was originally premiered in London( with the tireless support of Fr Andrew Cameron Mowat SJ, Parish Priest at Farm St Church, London) with a fine group of Professional actors. I simply wasn't sure if anyone would come to see it! But we were packed every night with enthusiastic audiences and rave reviews. It transferred to a larger theatre. I thought that might be that.

But , as pleased as I was with the reception of the London professional premiere, my real joy is that it has been done by Jesuit schools and colleges around the world, with such wonderful fruits.

Of course, one can read the many excellent academic analyses of Ignatius and his early followers and learn much from them. But there is a particular miracle that happens when drama is made. This is something the Jesuits have always understood.

These worldwide College productions are a vivid demonstration of why the early Jesuits themselves, and subsequent generations, valued the power of theatre. Perhaps this is why Jesuits have historically used it as an educational and spiritual tool at the highest levels.

The great English Saint, Edmund Campion SJ himself is reputed to have written circa two hundred plays. These brilliant , intuitive early and current Jesuits realised that theatre and drama touches a part of the heart at a mysterious frequency of which we may be not fully aware.

Shakespeare himself may well have been familiar with the Exercises as a schoolboy, possibly being taught by two teachers whose Jesuit brothers were martyred at Tyburn. And the influence of the Exercises on that dramatist's work are inescapably clear to those well versed in both. The many references to the Imaginative Contemplation being but one case in point.

After the universally positive response, I would very much welcome more Schools and Universities of the Jesuit Global Network of Schools to perform the play, and for more students to have the same life changing experiences.

I warmly invite our dear American and Canadian friends to discover this play with their students. Regardless of the artistic merits of the play, its power is all from Ignatius. I was just the scribe through which it came. It is therefore bursting with his own enormous, transformative power, the zest of his early followers and the power of the Exercises.

Inigo was a Saint for all of us. Then. Now. And for all time.

Testimonials

Kate O'Brien, Head of Drama. Wimbledon Jesuit College, London, England, said: "We incorporated the play into our study of Stanislavsky as a practitioner, and the ways in which some of his ideas, like emotion memory, and the magic "if", had similarities to Ignatian Spirituality, such as using the imagination and senses to become part of the scene, or to walk alongside your character."

"A wonderful collaboration! All of the Gonzaga College Senior High School students were involved in the preparation for this, not only as the main and supporting casts, musicians, singers, and dancers, but also on the artistic and production committee, and they were also given the opportunity to express their creative ideas. Many students' parents worked together to spend their time and energy providing support both morally and materially. The students were guided to gain a deeper understanding of themselves …so they were more ready to become the agents of change and renewal...from a spiritual perspective, they could deepen their Ignatian spirituality, developed through the spiritual exercises by Saint Ignatius Loyola, through his true-life journey...students gained a clearer understanding of the importance of the Examen...they were also able to cultivate and develop a strong sense of solidarity in carrying out their responsibilities towards the common goal, which was making this theatre work a success for the Greater Glory of God." Rianika Septianingtyas, Head of Drama. St Aloysius Gonzaga College, Jakarta.

Ms Heidi Quinn, Head of Drama. St Aloysius' College, Sydney, Australia said: "The boys really enjoyed the experience, and I know that the story of Ignatius will be so much clearer. Our actor who played Inigo did such a great job of creating a believable character, and his performance was well beyond his fourteen years of age... Thank you for providing the wonderful script for our students to engage with. I know that many of them are finding the 'human' side of Ignatius much more real to them now after being involved in this production."

"I must say that my students so enjoyed the production; my lead performer was just amazing and they all put so much in. It was so well received. The play held the attention of the audience (and my teenage performers!) so thoroughly and completely...A testament to both the excellent script and the enjoyment that my cast and crew took from it! ...My lead performer, who took on the role of Inigo, was almost a different person before and after realising that he can, indeed, take on a role that large, memorise that many lines, and captivate an entire room of people with his performance. Thank you!...It is also worth mentioning that the St. George's College 2023 production of "Inigo" was awarded first place in an annual Schools' Production festival." Kyla Render, Head of Drama. St George's College, Harare, Zimbabwe.

"A fresh, bracing re-imagining of the story of Ignatius of Loyola. It shakes the dust off the statue, and reveals the living, breathing saint beneath." Fr Dermot Preston, SJ, Provincial of the Society of Jesus 2011 to 2017.

"Ignatius emerges as such a fascinating character in the play. You seem to have a great grasp of his spirituality and how the Jesuits were born. It is a real work of art that long may live when you and I are gone! Well done." Myles O'Reilly SJ, Rector of Gonzaga College, Dublin

"It has been a privilege to watch the transition of Inigo from the rich possibilities of the page to the dynamic action of the stage, bringing this extraordinary Christian hero to life in a way that speaks directly to our century. Comedy and personal conflict, the transcendent and the fully human, ambition becoming mission informed by love. A drama that entertains and moves its audience and does what good drama always does, changes a little the way we think about ourselves and about our world." Fr John Moffatt, SJ.

How to access the play

In accordance with British and Global Copyright Law, it is essential to obtain a licence/ permissions for using the play, or to make any changes to the script. Please contact John Patrick Murphy at John@jonathanmooreuk.com

To order Jonathan Moore's book Inigo, see: www.aurorametro.com/product/inigo/