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| Writer Irene L. Pynn. Photo-The Alley Theater |
Church of
Saint Bearer
By
Irene L. Pynn
Directed
by Michael Ray Harris
Reviewed
by Keith Waits
Entire
contents are copyright © 2013, Keith Waits. All rights reserved.
As
the Inhumana Festival continues to ask the question “Just how many variations
on undead stories are there to discover?”, Church
of the Saint Bearer posits one of the more obvious but relatively
unexplored questions about zombies. Is the dead walking the earth a complete
refutation of Christian beliefs? Now I’m not a scholar of undead storytelling,
and religion has certainly played a role in many famous zombie tales. But it
seems a key and largely overlooked question to ask whether zombies are meant to
represent such a solid statement against the idea of everlasting life after
death as many religions envision it.
We
might suppose a believer’s response to be that the zombie is only the vessel
and that this would have little to do with a soul ascending to heaven or
otherwise. But this script intriguingly dips its toe into such theological
waters and whets your appetite for Big Questions. It is set entirely inside a church, where the priest attempts to hold his dwindling flock together against a
vaguely described plague that eventually brings the suffering (the word
“zombie” is never spoken) to the very doors of the sanctuary. The priest relies
on the strength of prayer, but his parishioners fall prey to the usual catalog
of paranoid self-defense and, eventually, violence.
I
have no idea of playwright Irene L. Pynn’s own spiritual beliefs, but
agnosticism seems a comfortable fit for the tale she is telling. The script is
never preachy except where action demands, and the ideas are allowed to surface
rather than be dredged up to obvious effect. Cliches are inherent to zombie
stories, but my only real complaint is that the brief narrative (less than a
full hour) seems to promise so much more. I would love to see the author delve
deeper and expand this play somewhat. The themes are certainly heady enough to
warrant a full-length treatment.
Frank
Whitaker delivers an authoritative performance as the priest, unshorn locks and
scruffy beard suggesting a liberal but unwavering devotion to God. His calm
level voice in the early scenes begins to crack as his divine protection comes
under direct challenge. Jamie Shannon makes an impression as an expectant
mother who introduces the most strident paranoia in defense of her unborn
child, while John Aurelius is solid support as her husband. Alex Minton, a new
face to me, does good work as a young survivor; and Denny Grinar is a welcome
phlegmatic presence. Director Michael Ray Harris stages the action in simple,
direct terms that never overwhelm the tiny space, even when he is reaching for
horrific impact. Things get tense and scary, and there are some reasonably gruesome
make-up effects when the plague enters the church. I apologize if that seems
like a spoiler, but, come on – it IS a zombie play!
Church of
Saint Bearer
Part
of Inhumana: A Festival of New American Undead Theatre
April
4-19, 2013
The
Alley Theater
1210
Franklin Street
Louisville,
KY 40206
502-713-6178
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