The Power of a Story

I was up in Glasgow last weekend visiting my Dad and, as an early Father's Day treat, I took him to see David Greig's Dunsinane at the Citizens' Theatre.

The National Theatre of Scotland - who present the Royal Shakespeare Company production in association with Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh - describe the play as:

A vision of one man’s attempt to restore peace in a country ravaged by war.

The parallels in Greig's story to present day are striking. As the Sunday Times puts it:
David Greig gleefully seizes on Shakespeare's tragedy and writes a thrilling sequel for the RSC that has more to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than with 11th-century Scotland.

Greig's witty and poetic script along with some utterly captivating performances make for a stunning piece of theatre, in my opinion, theatre just as it should be.

It reminded me of a lecture we had at university from Dougie Irvine, Artistic Director of Visible Fictions Theatre Company. Visible Fictions are a company dedicated to making theatre for children and young people. I remember he told us about their belief in the power of a story. He compared the work they do to the work in the Theatre-in-Education movement, telling us that, for Visible Fictions, they do not set out to teach their audiences through their work, like in TiE, but actually by the nature of theatre, there is often a massive amount to come out of a production that touches people's hearts and makes them question and think. Dunsinane definately touched my heart and the fact that I am still thinking about it, and all that it stirred up in me, over a week and a half later suggests that he was, in fact, right.

It seems to be a recurring tension that keeps cropping up for me - this tension between theatre and theatre-in-education, between preaching and facilitating. I think that the approach Visible Fictions take to their work is an incredibly brave one. It feels somehow easier to make sure that our audience definately get the point that we want to make by saying it plainly and making it obvious... but doesn't that take the theatricality out of it? Doesn't that engage the intellect and miss the heart?

It's moved me to think about Jesus and His use of stories in His teaching. Jesus told countless parables to make His point, using culturally relevant associations and characters to make a point, but rarely did He break down exactly what He meant by each part of the story, because His skill in weaving and telling stories was so great that He didn't need to. Jesus believed in the power of the story he was telling to convict the hearts of the people He told.

If I am indeed working at being more Christ-like (as professing myself as Christian would suggest) then I can't ignore the example that He has set out for us. I want to be telling stories, like Jesus did, that convict the heart, stories with characters that are so real and absorbing that we can't help but be drawn in. The hard part of that is that I relinquish all control. This is something I have been battling with as I have taken my playwriting classes this year - the need to lay down my agenda and allow the character's own voices freedom from censorship. The moment I lay down the opportunity to preach a point I open a door to the possibility that some members of the audience will leave without having received the message that I might have intended. But I also open a door to a much more credible, real and moving piece of theatre.

What is required, then, is faith. Faith in the power of a story to touch people's hearts. Faith in mankind to have empathy and compassion on the characters we present. And of course, ultimately, faith in Jesus, in the example He showed us, but also in His sovreignty and the supernatural work of His Spirit to stir and move us.