a win for audiences and independent theatre Weekend Notes
this is bold, exhilarating storytelling …. Thank God for the refreshingly cosmopolitan audacity of this creative team Paul Gilchrist, Theatre Red
Hilarious, disturbing and sacrilegiously sharp Faith in Theatres
NEW WRITERS, NEW WORKS
KXT x NIDA
A series of three staged plays at KXT Broadway showcasing the work of recent MFA Dramatic Writing alum as they build their profile and transition to professional careers
In 897 AD, Rome, newly elected Pope Stephen is haunted by the legacy of his predecessor, Formosus, whose corrupt papacy decimated the Church’s public image. Amidst pressures from the King of Italy, a suspicious number of cardinals ‘falling’ down the Vatican stairs, and the antics of horny priests, Pope Stephen faces an impossible dilemma. Either bring the corpse of Formosus to trial posthumously and face eternal damnation, or stay faithful and risk political assassination. As Stephen’s morality waivers, so does his grip on reality, his descent into madness resulting in a bloody crescendo of chaos, betrayal, and several dead pigeons.
Like all good parables, some of this actually happened.
This new play by Ruby Blinkhorn is bold, juicy, and blasphemous, reckoning with the crumbling of institutions - both religious and political. It’s funny, sexy, and cutting… the church would absolutely hate it.
Director Mathew Lee with Nat Jobe, Luke Fewster, Mark Langham, Leon Walshe, Diego Retamales, Yasna Delo
Writer Ruby Blinkhorn
Assist Director Dominique Purdue
Set and Costume Designer Alice Vance Lighting Designer Frankie Clarke Composer and Sound Designer Cameron Smith
Fight Choreographer Diego Retamales Intimacy Coordinator Trish Speers Stage Manager Alex Liang
Assoc Producers Zoe Hollyoak, Bella Sham Assist Producer Morgan Owen
