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The Screwtape Letters
Belief and spectacle merge in the adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ work
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Ever thought about how similar religion and theater are? In an array of strange college courses, one of mine is titled precisely “Religion & Theater.” Literally, it’s about how these two universal phenomena intermingle in unexpected ways. We study works (mainly theater) that convey an author or a group’s religious message, and how some religious rituals have a large degree of theatricality in them.
Though it was originally a novel, The Screwtape Letters is not too far from this conversation. By turning the epistolary-style novel into a play, playwright Jeffrey Fiske and actor/writer Max McLean translate C.S. Lewis’ message into the stage. The Fellowship for the Performing Arts has been touring The Screwtape Letters through Chicago, D.C, San Francisco, Phoenix, Louisville, Chattanooga, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston and Austin. Currently, FPA is showing the play adaptation at the West Side Theater. Even though this company is known to produce theater from a Christian worldview, secular audiences still largely applaud their work and find themselves deeply moved by it.
Max McLean himself plays senior devil Screwtape, who is mentoring the junior tempter Wormwood through letters on how to condemn a soul. Toadpipe, the squirming secretary-creature played by Karen Wight, aids Screwtape in his writing and instructing Wormwood how to use human frailty to take the soul. C.S. Lewis’ novel exposes the turbulences of not only humans’, but also devils’ spiritual warfare. Faithful to this message, McLean pours himself into this message and into the character.
Whether an audience member is secular or devout, it’s always interesting to find a work that compels him or her to really think about belief. By twisting the established morale, calling God the “Enemy” and the devil “Our Father below,” the dialogue established in The Screwtape Letters really grabs the audience and shakes it.
For more information on the West Side Theater’s current production of The Screwtape Letters, visit www.fpatheatre.com/screwtape.