Theatre was twice born in our western civilization, once in Greece, and thousands of years later in the Middle Ages. And on both occasions the mother of theatre was religion. Since then theatre has grown up and gone its own way, and these days theatre and religion don’t go out together much anymore. All that changes in Church, which is not only a play but also a religious service conducted by four young ministers who have quite a lot to celebrate.
The author is Young Jean Lee, perhaps the most original and provocative playwright in America. The New Yorker calls her plays personal, probing and “utterly demented.” She grew up going to church with her Korean parents, and she hated it. She would sit there and look around at the people and think how awful they were. She went to college and declared herself an atheist. And then she wrote this play.
It is not what you think. You will find yourself very surprised and possibly something more when you come to Church and worship in the house of Young Jean Lee. |
