WHILE the Irish press was giving blanket coverage to this week’s meeting between the Pope and bishops summoned to Rome in the wake of the Irish church’s vast paedophilia scandal, theatre-goers scrambled for seats to see a play which unflinchingly tackles the issue of clerical abuse and hypocrisy.
A scene from Christ Deliver Us!
Irish playwright Thomas Kilroy’s new play Christ Deliver Us! opened at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre is nominally set in the 1950s, but its topicality is startling.
According to this report, it does not directly accuse the church of paedophilia, but it is severely critical of sexual repression, corporal punishment and censure of minor teenage lapses that are insignificant compared with those of the religious teaching fraternity.
Declares one character, Father Seamus, played by Tom Hickey
We’re hiding under the black … The truth will out.
The Abbey itself underlines the parallels with the findings of two reports into child abuse by priests published in Ireland last year.
We as a society are still reeling from the revelations of the Murphy and Ryan reports. For this reason, it is an important play for the Abbey, as the national theater, to present now.
It plans to follow it up with a series of documentary theatre presentations later this year, shining light on “the darkest corner” – a phrase used by Prime Minister Brian Cowen in response to the Ryan report on child abuse.
That a theatre should tackle such subject-matter would once have been a scandal in itself.
Kilroy’s play draws inspiration from German writer Frank Wedekind, whose criticism of sexual repression in the late 19th century in his play Spring Awakening stirred up huge controversy as audiences denounced it as pornographic.
Audience applause at Tuesday’s official opening night of Kilroy’s play suggested it considered criticism of religious authorities entirely valid.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
February 19th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Well that’s a brave move, considering Ireland’s mediaeval blasphemy / ‘religious tolerance’ laws…
February 19th, 2010 at 3:00 pm
The Abbey Theatre has a proud and independent tradition which it continues here. In the early days the bluntness of language, and portrayal of the peasantry, in J.M. Synge’s, The Playboy of the Western World caused riots. The reported applause of the audience is heartening. No chance, I suppose, of the play getting past the BBC censors who are happy to block any offensive material (not of the faith) while permitting the religious drivel which offends listeners who come across it in Thought for the Day.
February 19th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Excellent.
It’s nice to see the Irish public enjoying this. The shenanigans of the pederasts have done irreparable damage to the catholic church there.
Tim Danaher mentioned Irelands blasphemy laws. I wonder would this prevent the emergence of their own version of Monty Python?
February 19th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Lets just kill the Damn priests/Imams/rabbies etc and be done with the fuckwits once and for all!
February 19th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Oh shit! A world without fuckwits telling us what to do = heaven for me. Fuck em get rid of the parasites!
February 19th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
The Abbey Theatre (and isn’t that mildly ironic) is indeed continuing it’s tradition, Broga. Long may it continue.
I really look forward to those blasphemy laws being taken on, as I am sure they will be. I’d love to see them try to deal with Dara Ó Briain in the dock.
February 19th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
@Don. I really liked your comment. Although I have, for professional reasons, long been familiar with W.B. Yeats, Maude Gonne, O’Casey, and so many others the irony of “Abbey Theatre” had not occurred to me. Thanks.
February 19th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
I can speak from experience as a pupil of st Marys r.c school in Cardiff, the sisters of mercy were vicious cows. Step out of line in the class and you were in trouble with physical beatings, but neglect your religious adherence’s and you were mentally abused, humiliating you in front of the class with threats of hell and damnation, at 10 years old that’s not very nice. This is much worse than a smack across the back of the head with the black board rubber by sexually repressed middle-aged virgins. Happy day’s!!
February 19th, 2010 at 11:46 pm
@terry: They say there’s nothing worse than a nun with a bee in her bonnet, but I once met a nun with a wasp in her cunt who disproved this theory.
Ethel and I both think that the Abbey Theatre is very brave, but dragging its heels somewhat. (Note our spelling of its without the apostrophe – quite correct).
We would quite like to see a play were the Holy Father spits out a line like “It’s one thing to like cock, but there should at least be pubes. The Bishop will have to go.”
We are all for realism.
February 20th, 2010 at 1:54 am
I think it’s rather humorous. We think we are being wise when we vote for politicians who appear to be without stain. Instead we elect the cleverest criminal who knows how to hide his past.
Equally as humorous, the catholic boy who is not attracted to women thinks that its god’s calling to the ministry. Instead its his leaning toward buggering little boys, but the former is so much easier to admit to one’s self.
In a huge way, we do this to ourselves. Appointing leaders to a standard that it unrealistic.
NeoWolfe
February 20th, 2010 at 3:18 am
I half agree, Neo. We have unrealistic expectations of politicians and others in the public eye. At least the press tells us so. They are expected to be saintly, thus they always fall short of the mark.
As for paedophiles, well they exist in all walks of life but seem all the more remarkable when they are exposed in a position of trust.
Surely a cynical attitude is the safest when it comes to the safety of ones children.