Tickets: £15
£10 (Students, NHS, Universal Credit)
Presented by Next Stage Theatre Company
Tuesday 29th November - Saturday 3rd December, 7.30pm
Matinee Saturday 3rd December, 2.00pm
Who do you turn to if you’re struggling at work? That’s the dilemma facing vicar Lionel Espy in David Hare’s award-winning play. You can try talking to a God, of course, but it’s tricky when your faith is wavering, and both your congregation and bishop have lost confidence in you. Then along comes a younger, more charismatic rival...
Originally written in 1990, this fascinating glimpse into the working lives of the clergy remains fiercely topical today.
Part of a trilogy looking at different British institutions, Hare portrays a world in which religious faith is confronted by the everyday problems of society. Is faith enough? And what are its limits?
Personality clashes and office politics are, Hare suggests, just as likely in the Church as anywhere else - and the solutions just as difficult.
Racing Demon, written by Next Stage Theatre Company's patron David Hare, is a challenging production that is not to be missed. Bob Constantine directs, with Brian Fisher as the Rev Espy.
OPENING NIGHT REVIEW - Racing Demon
Next Stage theatre company could not have timed things better. With recently published census data showing that less than 50 percent of the English population now identify as Christian, they chose to stage David Hare’s 1990 drama about Church Of England politics. What is more important – adherence to the Christian faith or the good works of those working for the established Church at local level? This is the dilemma at the heart of the play.
Played by Brian Fisher, just as magnetic as he was in Next Stage’s production of Pinter’s “The Hothouse,” The Reverend Lionel Epsy prioritises social work over dogma. But is he guilty of focussing on cure rather than prevention? Would the people he helps be better off, in the long term, being recruited as full on practicing Christians? His young rival Reverend Tony Ferris - Joshua Tenn valiantly reading in due to a sudden bereavement in the cast – clearly thinks so.
Hare’s writing is at its strongest when these debates begin to play out in the higher echelons of Church bureaucracy. In one memorable scene, the right on, cycling Reverend Donald “Streaky” Bacon downs four tequila sunrises before a meeting with two purple clad Bishops. As Streaky, Brian Hudd is simultaneously the “happy priest” and an effective back room operator. These well-meaning men – and they were all men back in 1990 – can be frighteningly ruthless when it comes to factional infighting.
Matters come to head at a synod meeting where ordination of women is being discussed. There is surprising common ground between the outraged, conservative Bishop of Southwark and the increasingly messianic Tony. Lionel finally buckles under the weight of authority. Meanwhile, the gay Reverend Harry is cruelly outed by the press.
Some well-drawn female characters are unavoidably on the fringes of this male dominated milieu. Tiana James as Stella shows how vulnerable individuals can suffer unintended consequences when large institutions change practice to fit in with policy. Lionel’s wife Heather and Tony’s on/off girlfriend Frances both have to live with the knock on effects of being with two, very different, men of commitment. In the end, only the cheerful Streaky seems to be coping well.
Next Stage did well to deal with the last minute casting changes. The pack was shuffled, the crew stepped up and there was no serious detriment to the audience experience. Perhaps surprisingly, the potentially dry subject matter made for an engaging evening. It was refreshing to experience sophisticated dialogue, nuanced argument and complex characters being allowed to unfold.
Phil Saunders, Bath Voice
