C.S. Lewis
“I think that God doesn’t necessarily want us to be happy. I think He wants us to be lovable. Worthy of him. Able to be loved by him.
The most dangerous illusion of them all is the illusion that all is well. Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you will not seek Him. If you do not seek Him, you will not find him.
God loves us, so He makes us the gift of suffering. Through suffering, we release our hold on the toys of this world, and know that our true good lies in another world.
We’re blocks of stone, out of which the sculptor carves forms of men. The blows of His chisel, which hurt us so much, are what make us perfect. The suffering in the world is not the failure of God’s love for us; it is that love in action….pain is God’s megaphone to a rouse a deaf world.
For believe me, this world that seems to us so substantial, is no more than the shadowlands. Real life has not yet begun.”
The above lines are from the opening speech that C.S. Lewis gives in the play “Shadowlands”. It is hard for me to hear it over and over again in rehearsals as I buried a brother only weeks ago. It is the second brother I have buried along with my father. I have been in a decade of grief.
I recently read an article that reminded me that grief is a companion of wisdom. King Solomon knew, “In much wisdom there is much grief. And increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.” (Ecclesiastes 1:18) Strangely enough, I heard a sermon about a year ago about wisdom, and how we should be committed to asking for more of it daily. So I did just that. My morning prayer has been quite simply, “Lord, give me wisdom.” I did not realize the gravity of that prayer. Wisdom exacts a price. I have not prayed that prayer since my brother’s death, but know that I continue to be in need of it.
Joel Cochrane and Tara Laberge in rehearsal for Fire Exit Theatre’s production of Shadowlands
I need wisdom in all of my many roles; as a professor at two institutions, as a creative communicator at a large church, and as a freelance theatre artist. But I perhaps need it most as the Artistic Director of a theatre company that is striving to change culture. It is in this very visible position that people are most inclined to comment on my art, on my character and on my Christianity. They want to know why I choose a script with “bad” words, or with theology they don’t agree with, or with an ending that didn’t include a conversion experience. So they conclude that not only is my art bad, but also my religion.
I do not fit into their box of what Christian Art or a Christian Artist should look like.
Maybe that’s why I love C.S. Lewis.
We consider him a theological heavyweight, but seem to look past the fact that he smoked cigars, probably drank a little too much at the pub with J.R.R. Tolkien, and married a divorcée. And married her with the express purpose of deceiving (a.k.a. lying to) the government in order to get her residence in the UK.
He was a wise man who was also acquainted with grief. “Shadowlands” chronicles his journey through love and ultimately great sadness as he loses his new wife, Joy, to cancer. The bewildered theoretician of love in the abstract finally confronts its direct presence. And reconciles his belief in a benevolent God with pain and suffering.
We are excited to be co-producing this truly profound and beautiful story with Hit & Myth Productions and their Artistic Producer Joel Cochrane. Hit & Myth is known for producing such plays as; William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead, A Behanding in Spokane, and Evil Dead: The Musical. So what drew them to a play about romance, faith, love and suffering – with no zombies or guns to be found?
Joel Cochrane and Hudson Brock in Shadowlands
“Because it’s a compelling story,” says Joel. “Val and I are both interested in creating work that is different and challenging. Work that makes you think, as well as makes you laugh and cry. Theatre can make for some strange bedfellows, but at the end of the day, everyone is looking for the same thing: to make art that is meaningful in some way, and that is memorable, and deals with the bigger truths. We both do that: we just happen to come at it from slightly different directions.”
This production is coming at just the right time, not only in my own life, but also in this city. So many people are grappling with the idea of a good God in a hard world. A world full of fear and isolation.
At Fire Exit Theatre, we have worked hard to combat both of those. To offer hope as an option to fear, and to offer community both on stage and off. I love this about theatre; of all the artistic mediums, it is meant to be both created and enjoyed in community. And any good story requires you to lean in, to pay attention, to think new thoughts, to engage your brain…to seek whatever wisdom can be gleaned.
The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”
Jesus replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight.”
-Matthew 13:10-15; The Message//REMIX: The Bible in Contemporary Language
SHADOWLANDS by William Nicolson; directed by Barrett Hileman.
May 12 – 22nd, 2016 nightly at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday/Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.; at Arts Commons in downtown Calgary. For more information or to buy tickets, visit www.fireexit.ca/shows
All production photos by Tara Whittaker
Director Barrett Hileman discusses C.S. Lewis and the universal themes in Shadowlands:
