Dramatic Retelling Of Book Of Jonah

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30740, 3 May 1965, Page 2

Dramatic Retelling Of Book Of Jonah

Some 30 members of the congregation of St. Michael and All Angels, with an ecumenical representation from other churches, presented, on Saturday night, a dramatic retelling of the Book of Jonah. Using all the theatrical effects which controlled lighting, symbolic costume, stylised movement and vocal contrasts can produce, this production had a considerable artistic impact.

The producer, Mrs Wendy de la Bere, was obviously exploring the possibilities of reviving the earliest forms of religious dama—the “picturing” of Bible stories so that a whole congregation might understand their significance. Insofar as this production proved that this kind of drama is acceptable, even exciting, it was an auspicious success.

But the story of Jonah is the story of a man who saved others but could not save himself: it is the story of a man used by God although out of sympathy with Him—a parable of the Jewish predicament. What is the point of retelling the story unless the modern implications of the story are made abundantly clear? Unless the audience is told, from the beginning, not only what is happening, but also why it is happening, then much of the point is lost.

Drama was rejected by the church when the theatrical effects and elements of entertainment outweighed the spiritual returns: drama will come back into churches when it functions with the clarity of a good sermon, illuminating familiar truths with fresh insight.

While the sincere and accomplished presentation of “The Story of Jonah” went

a long way towards this, it fell short because the central figure of Jonah, played impressively by Michael Keith, was too ambiguous; the result was that the audience was not sufficiently involved in his dilemma, nor could it easily see Jonah’s problems as its own.

Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that city churches will persuade the St. Michael and All Angels’ group to make its polished and provocative experiment available to a wider audience. —P.R.S.