Any Queenslander of a certain age will have strong opinions about the separation of Church and State and I am no exception. The Fitzgerald corruption enquiry which incidentally put the bigotry and religious zeal of some politicians on trial was in 1988 but the scars are still tender. The topic of religion and politics is never an easy discussion and recent leaders have not helped the healing. As a kind of a protection I took a friend, a young person, a person of faith, with me to the verbatim theatre performance QUIET FAITH at The Joan in Penrith.
However, QUIET FAITH is not really about religion and politics. It is about the religious… and their politics. Not media savvy, strident soundbite Christians but real people and their individual beliefs populate the stage. Theatre maker DAVID WILLIAMS has distilled hours of interviews into a snapshot of Australians who are motivated by faith to act with love. And hearing their words is what makes the show so riveting and why theatre is the perfect way to interpret the work. My friend crystallised it when she said as we were leaving, you need a communal experience to fully appreciate their point of view.
The performers reproduce the voice and cadences of the interviewees, with their permission apparently, and are believable and realistic. Many of the people I met here are individuals with whom I would never choose to engage. This not a debate, there is no fear of judgement or conflict just a chance to hear their words. And to respond. Many of us laughed out loud at the talk of epiphany and held our breath listening to why someone would baptise a dead baby against church law.
It’s a short production, just 55 minutes yet there are a great many topics covered in varying degrees of depth. The ‘Love Makes a Way’ prayer group who have staged sit-ins in Scott Morrison and Tony Abbot’s offices are a revelation. Hillsong type churches are described as representative of church being more than it has been. Then there are those driven to action by the Gospels or who work with sinners as Jesus did because he never hated people, just sin. A doctor and a community worker, an Anglican and a Methodist are among the variety of Christians heard from inside the unashamedly spiritual space.
Conceived as an immersive experience, the seating and setting are the same. JONATHON OXLADE’s design is complemented above by a saintly circle of white lighting designed by CHRIS PETRIDUS . When we enter the stage itself, there is a distinct ecclesiastical air both from the representative pews in the round and the bell and church-whisper soundscape designed by BOB SCOTT.
But it is Williams in his role as performer with collaborator ASHTON MALCOM who greet us like chapel ushers and press the words to ‘Amazing Grace’ into our hands that gives the space its initial religiosity. Other elements of this surface during the show. There are hymns sung and prayers said but no requirement to join in. Although it does take an effort of will to hold up your head when listening to these, most were bowed in contemplation.
There is much subtlety here for the religious, most significantly the symbolic placement of candles to reflect Psalm 119:105. “Thy word is a lamp to my feet.” One interviewee talks about prayer, whether in church or out walking the dog, an antidote to the speed of life and the show has the same effect. Each in her own way, my friend and I felt what can only be described the peace of enlightenment as we left.
QUIET FAITH is playing at the Joan as part of the Brave New Work season at The Joan. The final performance is tonight.