CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, February 15, 2017

‘The Christians’ Isn’t so Much a Play as a Strange, Brilliant Sermon

The Do List | KQED Arts: Lucas Hnath’s The Christians, receiving its Bay Area premiere in a fine production under Bill English’s direction at SF Playhouse, starts with what seems to be a simple story. When a 17-year old Muslim boy runs into a burning grocery store and dies saving his seven-year old sister, his body shielding her from the flames, what happens to him? He’s a hero, of course. But what happens to his soul?

1 comment:

Simone Schneeberg said...

In this time where religion is such a heated topic, people are hesitant to talk about the topic at all. The most important thing I drew from this article about the play, in my opinion, is the fact that it makes people "listen with great care." When people do end up on difficult topics, conversations end up polarizing. People are often reluctant to even listen to the other side. Much like the show about Roe v. Wade, plays that hit hard topics offer a place without confrontation. People on all sides of the conversation can sit side by side in the dark and just listen and absorb the in information presented and form more informed opinions. Hopefully forums such as this, that present information in a non antagonistic setting can open up the conversations we really need to have, conversations not about who is right and who is wrong, but conversations such as "what it means to believe."