![]() ![]() The bird rips out the soft underbelly and plucks out each eye, leaving the dead rabbit uneaten on the floor. Whilst her son is being crucified, Mary is distracted by a man passing live rabbits to a caged bird. The bird is an allusion that Toíbín’s script keeps referring back to. The box rises and Shaw emerges, distributing candles to the crowd and ushering them back to their seats before picking up a vulture and walking the stage with it on her arm. It’s a powerful and discomforting visual made more haunting by a discordant chiming audio (that echoes throughout the play) Then Shaw appears amongst them, she makes her way to a large Perspex box and sits inside, draping herself in the blue shawl that immediately transforms her into the Virgin Mary of renaissance art. They shuffle like processing pilgrims, not sure why they are there or what they are looking for. The Testament of Mary is a first hand account of a mother, a woman who mourns the loss of her son, first to the path he took in life and then the life that was taken away.īefore the performance, the audience is invited onto the stage to walk around Tom Pye’s set. Colm Toíbín’s play, he gives her a voice. We all know Mary from countless paintings, carvings and sculptures she is a ubiquitous icon in our society. But she barely speaks in the bible, we hear very little about her and even less from her. The Virgin Mary is a mystical, mythical presence in our lives, adopted and reinvented by different branches of Christianity, growing in significance and gathering a narrative, imposed upon her. But it didn’t, the play was remarkable and I heard nothing but praise from the theatre congregation. It might have made a neater review if I could report that my pride came before a fall. But the talk of those around me (including a priest), was of openness to the play, a willingness to experience first and judge later. ![]() Putting words, angry words, doubting words, into the mouth of ‘the blessed virgin’ must be challenging to the church. Taking my seat, in the gods, I felt proud to be part of a society that is tolerant of such a challenging play. ![]()
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