Written by Ruby Blinkhorn, this is bold, exhilarating storytelling.
It’s set in the Vatican of the 9th Century CE, it’s inspired by historical events, and it’s original Australian work!
Thank God for the refreshingly cosmopolitan audacity of this creative team.
(By the way, a good historical drama is almost enough to make you believe in God. The soul-enriching assumption that an audience will connect with characters who don’t live in the contemporary world is akin to the belief that all humankind is a single family, the members of which are to be both loved and pitied – a sentiment beautifully expressed in the well-known religious phrase We are all Children of God.)
Not that this production asks you to believe in God. (But more on that later.)
Pope Stephen is being pressured by more worldly authorities to condemn the corruption of his predecessor, Formosus. The exact details of the demanded condemnation are nothing but shocking: Formosus must be exhumed and his corpse put on trial. Understandably, Stephen is somewhat reluctant.
It’s a universal tale: Can evil be resisted? (Nb the passive voice. But more on that later.)
The piece is replete with the anachronisms endemic to the genre. Some are historical, made for the sake of simplicity (like the positing of a King of Italy or the poverty-stricken-but-still-literate orphan.) Others are linguistic (phrases like OK, We’re good? and Let’s wrap this up) employed to narrow the gap inherent in the sharing of a story set in a foreign country over a millennium ago. Other anachronisms playfully generate recognitional humour (like the sense that the discussions in the 9th Century Vatican were uncannily like modern corporate meetings.)
There’s plenty of laughs. Much of them come from delightful reversals of expectations as the supposed holy men indulge in language and behaviour that doesn’t match the moniker. Occasionally the piece threatens to diminish into farce (or even satire – more on that soon) but there’s a serious story here, and Blinkhorn brings it home powerfully.
Under the direction of Mathew Lee, the cast give captivating performances. As Stephen, Nat Jobe offers a riveting portrait of moral determination, lamb-like gentleness and naive idealism, presenting this fraught mix so that his emotional suffering becomes utterly convincing. As young Gabriel, Leon Walshe gives us an innocence so complete it’s frighteningly oblivious to danger, and all the more heartbreaking for that. As the Machiavellian John, Luke Fewster is all smooth talking smarm and ominous machinations. Yasna Delo as Lucia, voice for the worldly authorities (and for herself), is suitably waspish. Diego Retamales’ Brother Abraham is a terrific comic addition, all huffs and puffs that leave him hilariously unaware of the stakes. As senior cleric Paul, Mark Langham provides both wry humour and vital gravitas; it’s a performance that helps lift the piece to grandeur.
The end of the story is perhaps too quick, and the steps in Stephen’s final journey too close together, but enormous, crucial questions are raised.
Stephen’s spiritual experience is framed entirely in terms of Faith. And it’s Faith in the way Modernity conceives it: as an unwavering loyalty to an unverifiable vision of Life. I suggested the piece was in danger of slipping into satire, and Stephen’s response to the suffering of the aforementioned orphan is a prime example. He doesn’t seem to be much of a doer. But Paul, one of his brothers in Christ, denounces him very clearly and passionately for this very fault.
It’s worth noting that when Jesus of Nazareth was asked to sum up the law and the prophets he reportedly focussed, not on Faith, but on Love. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”
And Love is not some fuzzy feeling – and it’s certainly not a belief. Love is a doing. Stephen seems to have tragically forgotten this.
In the context of the culture wars of contemporary society, this thrilling piece reminds us we must not privilege attitude over action.
Paul Gilchrist
Cadaver Synod by Ruby Blinkhorn
presented by NIDA in association with bAKEHOUSE Theatre Co
at KXT on Broadway, until 6 June
Image by Robert Catto
Theatre Red 
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