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The mystery and the passion

Creating holy theatre

A stage in life

THE MYSTERY AND THE PASSION
Creating holy theatre
By Richard Hasnip
Authentic Media. 142 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978-1-85078-827-0

This easy-to-read book encapsulates the essence of what drama and the church have in common. It helps to break down misconceived perceptions of the purposes and usefulness of the concept of using drama as an effective method of communicating — particularly within the church.

The book can be split into three sections:

1. The history and background of drama and how it is connected with the church — covering similarities, differences, techniques and the reason why drama has been used as a resource.

2. Interviews with artistic directors of two of the largest and most widely known Christian theatre companies in the UK (Paul Burbridge of Riding Lights and David Robinson of Saltmine) to understand the current position of Christian theatre.

3. Two plays which are available to be used — encouraging an opportunity for the ‘church and the theatre to rediscover one another’.

Richard Hasnip sufficiently summarises his inspiration in one of the opening statements: ‘I've written this book because I can see a future where people share life-changing stories and God-breathed Scripture like they mean it, where congregations and audiences laugh and cry, experiencing and sharing what it is to be human as well as experiencing and worshipping God’. I would recommend this book to those who: are cautious in their approach to using drama in the church; may not understand the point of using drama or dislike the disruption it can cause to the order of worship; have an interest in discovering effective and alternative ways of communicating Christ-centred messages; have experienced the power of theatre and want to harness that passion in the church; have a burning desire to bring the stories, the Bible, the essence of Christianity to life so that people can no longer deny the purpose for which they have been created!

Naomi Philippi,
who travelled internationally for seven-and-a-half years with the Covenant Players’ drama ministry; a member of Chertsey Street Baptist Church, Guildford