I looked forward to this production at Lichfield Methodist Church with great interest after attending the launch meeting.
So – a community drama utilising nearly forty actors professional, amateur and relatively inexperienced about an obscure period of Dark Age history, linked by two loosely connected strands from the present day. How could it be brought off, given the disparate ingredients and time available?
The result defied all expectations.
David Titley is a dramatist of real talent who should write more. The result of his labours was an absorbing glimpse into why Christianity took such a hold among the pagan inhabitants of a little island in a marsh, known today as our own modern City of Lichfield. And now the three skilfully interwoven stories came into their own – Chad’s career in a world now unimaginably primitive from priest to unwilling Bishop, modern scientists dating his supposed bones and an ironic modern meeting of troubled youth and age, all blended into a deeply satisfying drama. This in turn allowed a neat exploration of complex historical issues and a nice spread of views on the subject of religion from paganism through beleaguered faith to sceptical atheism.
Stuart Goodwin’s Chad showed the private struggle of a spiritual man. Performance values were powerfully strengthened by stalwarts of the local drama community. Especially notable were Phil Shaw (one of my favourite local actors) as the ascetic Smileyesque Father Piper, Fiona Willimott as the scientist with a secret, Dickie Bannister-Lowe as the eternal sceptic and Annette Phillips as a mature woman whose secret hurt is healed. Young Martin Playle-de Vries deserves a mention for his promising bebut as a boy monk, while Andrew Brennan turned in a genuinely moving performance as the beleagured modern Dad.
A packed audience added that extra lift only a sympathetic reception can bestow. A moving and heartwarming evening, with plenty of food for thought.
The production runs until tomorrow (March 26). For tickets contact Lichfield Methodist Church, Tamworth Street.
