Posted on 10/23/2013 2:06:19 PM PDT by Alex Murphy
I left the National Youth Theatre’s production of Pope Joan feeling both angry and extremely moved. The disputed myth of the first and only female Pope touched something very deep in my psychology. Pope Joan is a medieval tale about the alleged first (and only) female Pope who rose to the top of the Vatican styling herself as ‘John’- she is devout, brave and willing to risk anything to be close to God. Prior to the start of the action, Joan has revealed her true identity to a Cardinal in the Vatican who she has slept with and is now carrying his child, obviously problematic in her desire to maintain her male disguise.
Joan’s problems, therefore, are tenfold. She is not blameless in the child’s conception and does not wish to keepit, as her cover will be blown. However, by aborting the child she feels as if she would be angering God because this would be a disavowal of God’s gift to females: the ability to procreate. Sophie Crawford’s (Joan) expressive eyes internalise this pain and conflict, in a tour de force of a performance. Crawford makes it clear that is her body that is her betrayer, and that she is torn in a fundamental dichotomy between her faith and her biology. Although her faith is stronger than any mans, her body renders this faith heretical. She dies a martyr as she is ‘discovered’ when she goes into labour whilst giving a delivering a sermon in the pulpit.
The setting of the play in St James’s Church, in Piccadilly is perfect for the production. It allows designer Fi Russell to excel in creating an extremely atmospheric setting, because she has already been given the gift of the ornate church wall and stained glass to work from as a backdrop. She has pushed the altar back and has filled the floor space with an enormous horizontal white cross. This acts as a raised stage for the action, and is a constant reminder throughout the play of Christ’s bodily sacrifice to God, reflecting upon Joan’s own struggle with her body.
Considering this is her first published play, Louise Brealey’s script is excellent, particularly the dialogue between Joan and her antagonist, the snarling Cardinal Anastasius who wants the papacy for himself, played with a sting by Robert Willoughby. The most powerful moment in the show is a silent physical scene where director Paul Hart uses the National Youth Theatre’s ensemble training to create a staircase up the isles and to the to Church altar which Crawford climbs up, breasts bared reaching out in desperation to the edifice of Christ above her head. She is prepared to give her body over entirely to Christ, but it is that same body and the child growing inside her that nullifies her connection with God.
Richard Geller and John Lipman have excelled in their creating the costumes for this piece. In tandem with Russell’s design and the church setting, Joan’s papal robes are heavily brocaded, creating an authoritarian sweep around he as she commands the Vatican, cutting through the dust of the Church. Anastasius is dressed, fittingly, in long and rich Satan-red robes, elongating Willoughby’s already tall natural height to make him tower above Joan and the rest of the Vatican, a genuine threat. The strengths in this production are typical of the National Youth Theatre, as they lie in the incorporation of the space into the ensemble work. As you sit in the pews, the Vatican meets, squabbles and shouts all around you, creating a multi-sensory experience where the entire cast is valuable in creating the scene around you.
Although this is a fictional story and has become long-embroiled in Christian and urban mythology, the tale of Pope Joan is particularly pertinent to today’s modern professional women facing the problems of maintaining a work-life balance between their career ambitions and their desire (or not) to have a family. Pope Joan is an aptly timed show, performed just as the bill to allow women bishops in Wales was passed, proof that the Church is finally accepting that the strength of your faith is irrelevant to your gender.
It doesn't mean dad...Next time I see a priest I'll call him dad...Then I'll tell him you said dad and father are the same thing...
Saying it isn't true doesn't debunk something...
How are you going to look at it in context when you skipped the context???
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
Does the scripture say there are no fathers??? No it doesn't...Jesus knows there are many fathers, and, masters...So what do the verses say???
The verses say that while there are many fathers and masters, DO NOT call anyone father or master...
Mat 23:9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
Mat 23:10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
See how simple the scriptures are???
And you talk about context??? You don't have any context...Here's the context...
Mat 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
Mat 23:6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
Mat 23:7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
The context is religious looking/acting people...Religious looking/acting people with flashy robes...Religious looking people who wear amulets, Religous people who put themselves above the flock...You know, like every single cleric in your religion...
>> “The myth of Poe Joan has been debunked countless times” <<
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The lie of all popes has been debunked by scripture Billions of times, but the humanist catholic ‘church’ keeps on pretending that he/she exists. - Go Figure!
>> “Next time I see a priest I’ll call him dad...” <<
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Oh, don’t do that, he;ll think that your mother is one of the nuns.
What’s that got to do with a “fictional” pope’s shrine in Rome?
Blah Blah Blah
“It doesn’t mean dad...”
Dad means father. Father means father. What part of that do you not understand?
“Next time I see a priest I’ll call him dad...”
Go ahead.
“Then I’ll tell him you said dad and father are the same thing...”
And he’ll agree with me. They mean EXACTLY the same thing. Only one is used to refer to priests in English. But go ahead and appear ignorant.
LOLOLOL
I didn't have to point out the context in those verses...The context is right there for anyone to see...You couldn't miss it... So you are saying blah blah blah to the scriptures...And you think you got the right religion???
And that is exactly what the scriptures are warning about...
No problem calling your dad father but you dare not call a priest that...In clear, blatant violation of the scriptures...
Christ was a creature, so yes, Catholics worship Him...a creature..
Um, what?
No, he was the creator, so catholics can’t worship him.
His body, of course....but nHe didn't expect the Apostles to take a bite out of His arm, so He gave them His body in the FORM of consecrated bread....pretty easy for GOD to do.
now to your statement that Catholics have zero understanding of spiritual things.....
it is the Catholic Church which preserved and protected the spiritual aspect of Christianity for 2,013 years and have done a pretty good job of it!!
observe now, the Multi-thousands of "feel good" protestant denominations, some store front operations, who change the rules as they go along just to satisfy egos....how are your female preachers coming along...and your female or gay bishops....certainly a strong spiritual basis there!!
If I were sitting next to God and He said "this is my body" I'd believe it...period.
Catholics haven less than zero understanding of spiritual things.
You twist the scriptures to fit your every fancy, all the while worshiping the Earth and its creatures.
people who belong to denominations, invented by dissident Catholics, as late as yesterday afternoon, should be very careful in lambasting the 2,013 year old cradle of Christianity....lest they put their collective feet in their collective mouths.
are you suggesting that Christ did not exist on Earth as a creature??????
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