In the beginning, there was nothing. A new home for the Bush theatre. A space. Endless possibilities. Excitement. Potential.
Then, an idea. A seed. 66 writers each responding to a single book of the King James Bible. Promise and danger. Simple and epic.
Let there be a light-hearted take on creation. Genesis through the eyes of Jeanette Winterson’s 21st century God; Catherine Tate’s American technology CEO with a wry line in omnipotent satire, a dry sense of humour and a secretarial angel tweeting for her.
From cynical omnipresent commentary to a sense of wonder and delight in Polly Frame’s effortlessly engaging storyteller recounting the story of Moses.
So the evening ebbs and flows, changing pace and style with each new short piece, from Maha Khan Philips’s disembodied voice of a stoned woman to Stella Duffy’s controversy-baiting reaction to the story of Naomi, and from Neil Bartlett’s tale of enlightenment following a first encounter with the Bible to Obi Abili’s heart-warming performance as a circus strongman forced to impersonate a lion.
Sad to say, I saw just nine of the 66 short plays on offer as part of the season, or as part of a 24 hour theatre marathon of Biblical proportions. I missed offerings from writers as diverse as Michael Rosen, Neil LaBute, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Billy Bragg, Kate Mosse and Rowan Williams. Though inspired by the same publication and akin in simplicity, each is as different as David and Goliath.
And I looked upon the first nine plays and – though some, as is always the case in productions such as these, were better than others – I saw they were good.
MA