Reverend Jonah
Synopsis
To a conservative church in a south-western Ontario town comes Jonah Arias – a troubled, left-leaning, pill-popping United Church minister. Jonah is also young and idealistic, with courage enough to challenge the power-brokers in his small community.
When Reverend Jonah starts an affair with a young woman in the congregation, and then decides to repatriate a former member of the church expelled for being in a lesbian relationship, the ensuing battle threatens to derail Jonah’s career and fracture the church.
The play, like the Reverend himself, is unafraid to ask the tough questions Do we have the right to judge one another? What constitutes integrity? What is courage? Are we prepared to embrace rather than censure our fellow human beings? Thoughtful and powerful, Reverend Jonah challenges us to explore the meaning of community in the very broadest sense.
“Reverend Jonah” was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Awards.
Classical 96.3 FM: “Ambitious, provocative and very moving, beautifully written, funny and sad by turns.”
The Lakeshore Advance: “Witty and often moving, expertly constructed and thought-provoking.”
Premier Performance Details
Reverend Jonah premiered at the Blyth Festival on August 10, 2007, with the following cast:
- Jonah Arias…………Darren Keay
- Phyllis Rowcliffe….Michelle Fisk
- Stacey Ross………..Randi Helmers
- Rachel Ross………..Ingrid Haas
- Barb Lapointe…….Rebecca Auerbach
- Fred Atkins…………Jefferson Mappin
- Di Atkins…………….Elizabeth Thorpe-Hearn
Directed by: Marie Beath Badian
Set and Costume design: Camellia Koo
Sound design: Todd Charlton
Lighting design: Louise Guinand
Stage Manager: Giselle E. Clarke
Assistant Stage Manager: Stéfanie Seguin
How to Get a Script
- Paperback: 96 pages
- Publisher: Scirocco Drama (Sept. 30 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1897289324
- ISBN-13: 978-1897289327