Matthew Hurt's programme note says that the play is 'an attempt to peel away the the layers of assumption and the residue of mythology so that we can look into the face of a man'. Given the religious mythology that has been layered on the historical Jesus over hundreds of years, this is a tall order.
The stage is completely stripped back, the brick walls and fire evacuation sign giving a sense of stark bareness, of barrenness, almost of bleakness. This allows the audience to focus only on the actor on stage and gives the feeling of the story being told in any space or time.

Simon Callow himself is an amazing actor and handled the show well despite being ill. His passionate portrayals and understanding of the stage is excellent.
The Man Jesus is a brave play which absolutely does present Jesus as a charismatic man, an important human being and as a radical of his day. The play does not attempt to dismiss the mythology which has sprung up from his story, but looks at how his charisma, strangeness and different opinions affected those around him and describes how his magnetism encouraged people to follow him.
Of course, it should be noted that while Matthew Hurt attempts to strip the story back and remove the years of legend and layers of mythology, he uses as his source, the Gospels, which cannot be dated accurately and are anonymous. Other Gospels were not included in the Bible at all. The Gospels are themselves a mythology and thus we can never truly know The Man Jesus.
The Man Jesus is playing at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast until 20th April.
Click here to find out more.
Karen
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