Theatre in the Christian experience

Theatre is an art in the sense that, it uses tools and techniques and, of course, needs the indispensable ingredient of talent and the artistic imagination in order to produce and communicate a moving aesthetic experience to an audience.

Now if, as most of the great artists all through history recognize, the creation of a work of art is not so much the result of the virtuosity of an artist, his mastery of the skills and craft - even though he needs to have that in order to do his job well - as it is the mysterious discovery of something which somehow was already there outside of us in the realm of the immaterial world, waiting to be seen and brought to reality in material form by a sensitive, tenacious and passionate spirit. Then the arts in a higher sense are a gift from God to help us discover and apprehend the beauty as well as the roughness and meaning of the world around us.

The arts can also be one of the means through which we, as real human beings living in a real world, can edify our spirits, sharpen our aesthetic sensitivity and unlock in ever passing glimpses some of the mysteries of life that science alone can not explain. Therefore, even though theatre may not have to be a mimesis of nature, nonetheless, it has to be concerned with the issues of life, if for the mere fact that it deals with what usually happens to real human beings living in a given situation at a certain point in time. Art is done by human beings for human beings in order to share something about the human experience which is interesting, relevant, instructive and exemplary.

This being the case, theatre from a Christian perspective, should be able to entertain but not in the sense that it will leave the audience with a soporific sentimental feeling of relief once the plot has been resolved, and indifferent to the sufferings of our fellow men and the problems, struggles and issues of every day life. Theatre done by Christians should stimulate the spectator to think about the real problems, mysteries and contradictions of the human heart as well as the needs and problems of the world in which we live. It should, like any other work of art, contribute to educate and help the spectator enhance his aesthetic sensitivity, and encourage him to be inquisitive and make good use of the God given faculties, which are so blatantly being jeopardized by the mass media in our modern societies.

This implies having a positive, critical attitude towards some of the issues, untruths and illusions which are upheld by the society in which we find ourselves. Attitude which is not only desirable but healthy and necessary in any sound and sensible society that has not yet allowed itself to be turned into a purely robotic entity. But of course, we need to bear in mind that this atittude is probably one of the reasons why some artists have been feared by dictators and corrupt governments and politicians in certain countries and political systems. The sanctity of life, the real value of a person, the need for genuine, honest human concern, love and compassion; the importance of being real in an ever evasive world and, farther more, the delusion of having to accept a naturalistic-materialistic view of life as the only sensible interpretation for any thinking person; these are all issues that are not very popular in the western democracies in which we live and probably one reason and cause for the confusion and disorientation we see around us. They are all issues that only Christians can help bring to the table to contribute to the intellectual debate on the arts and culture in our society.

So, theatre made by Christians should be an honest and dedicated effort to understand the contradictions and problems of the human condition as well as a continuous strive to unveil the delusions and lies of a frivolous, morbid and apathetic society. It should help the modern, secular and fragmented man see his life with a certain degree of honesty, objectivity and respect; it should help him discover his real self lost in the midst of all the impersonal mare magnum which surrounds our dealings with each other as people alienated from one another by our own fears, hypocrisies, selfishness and delusions.

Despite what some of the great theatre visionaries and reformers of the last century have said, arguing that the theatre has to take the place of the church to provide what the latter can not offer any more because it has lost its real sense of reality and connection with the transcendent reality it pertains to represent; theatre can not take the place of religion but it can help lead an audience on the way of the real spiritual encounter. But, of course this cannot be done in an easy and superficial way. It would require on the part of the Christian a real concern for the nature of the creative gift, a willingness to deal with the difficult issues and tough questions of life, as well as a spirit of compassion and determination to deal with those issues in an aesthetic and purely artistic way as opposed to a merely utilitarian and propagandistic approach.

If an audience comes to the theater in search of something which can take them beyond their own uninteresting daily experience, or even, as it is the case sometimes, if this audience comes to the theatre looking for a way of escape from their own reality; the theatre should then be for them an experience, rather than just a “show” that one comes and sees and goes home. The theatre could become a place of communion between the actors and the audience but also between the audience and those areas in their lives which remain locked up; it could help bring some light into the spectator’s own deceptions, and, in that manner, make the way for an encounter, a discovery of the real self beneath those layers of illusion that cover and hide their very own reality.

Naturalism in the theatre, though a great and liberating movement, came to a point where it got stuck in the apprehension and depiction of the mere reality of the naked eye. It lacked the vision and the means to go beyond that and perceive the mystical and spiritual dimension of the human life waiting to be integrated in the life of the stage. This, of course, is a task left for the Christian working in the theatre field as producers, directors, actors, dancers, etc. In passing, it is important to remember that the symbolist movement and other similar ones have tried to go beyond our mere senses of hearing and seeing and look for other kind of reality, but they actually took a path that led some recent theatre movements to get in touch with the dark aspect of the spiritual reality.

In a secular and religious apathetic society, the mere possibility of striking a cord in the audience, giving them a glimpse, a feeling, a sense of a reality which is beyond the materialistic and naturalistic understanding of life so pervasive in the western world, becomes the duty of an artist who wants to keep alive, real and creative and who wants to do more than just reproduce and imitate the forms of the past made almost sacred by tradition and some times by mere inertia. This can also set the audience off on to higher questions about the real meaning and purpose of life and give them a starting critical attitude towards the automatically accepted consensus of the society around them.

In closing, if I may say so, I believe that as Christians we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of utilitarianism or the obsession for a religious justification of the artistic work. The arts from a Christian perspective will do a better service to God if they remain true to themselves and do not try to take the pulpit or turn their work into sermons. The canvas is certainly not the place for the homily, as we all know, it belongs to the pulpit.