The Man Jesus (Tour – Salford)

In this play Matthew Hurt says he is "attempting to peel away the layers of assumptions and residue of mythology surrounding Jesus so that we can see the face of a man who walked on a specific part of the earth at a specific time."

The playwright wants to bring before us this man "who had such an impact on the history of mankind beyond all proportion to his riddling life."

This is some undertaking but Hurt has succeeded in writing a piece that is entertaining, thought provoking, challenging and in this production a spellbinding experience.

The Man Jesus traces his life from before his birth to after his death and we hear of this man through some dozen characters, both male and female, with whom he came into contact.

We do not see Jesus but he is brought vividly to life through the life of others. And this is no ‘supreme being Jesus’ nor the ‘meek and mild Sunday school Jesus’ but a man who lived and breathed. He could be angry; he could be forthright; he could appear hard on his mother but he also had a power and charisma that could unsettle and frighten some people.

The staging is simple but what there is used to great advantage. A screen introduces us to the characters and their place in the story and the pile of chairs can become an intimate scene, the Last Supper or most dramatically the throwing over of the money lenders’ tables in the temple. Who could believe that some 20 chairs could be powerful one minute and moving the next?

Subtle changes of light change the mood of the piece and the introduction of music every so often gives atmosphere.

The script, the staging and the direction further the playwright’s intentions but ultimately the success of The Man Jesus depends on the solo performance of Simon Callow. No stranger to the one man show he now adds another triumph to his catalogue. He is a masterful storyteller. From the moment he begins Mary’s story he has the audience in the palm of his hand and he draws this capacity crowd into an intimate piece of narrative theatre.

With no costume changes he creates a mesmerising character through voice, accent or body language. Each one is a definite person. He is very brave to start with Mary but he makes her a feisty woman and there is no hint of caricature to his females. In fact Joanna provides a moving and quiet dignity to the end of the first half.

This is a play that involves you completely for two hours and then will linger long after. Whether you are a believer or not there is much to enjoy, absorb and to think about and I am sure will send many of the audience back to the ‘original script’ and that's not an insult to Matthew Hurt, as this is an excellent piece of theatre.

The Man Jesus is currently touring the UK. For further dates on the tour, click here.