The Devil’s Passion

Invitation to The Devil’s Passion‘One of the most amazing evenings I have spent in the theatre.’
DAVID SUCHET

‘Radical and provocative: a devilishly clever retelling of the Easter Story.’ MARK LAWSON, The Tablet

Dear friends,

In 2015, I attempted to write a play which would draw together my lifelong fascination with the Passion story, my appetite for political satire and my immersion for many years in the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, justice and equality in the Holy Land. The result was The Devil’s Passion – a passion play set in Occupied Palestine, and told by the devil. Part espionage thriller, part satire, part poetic meditation – Homeland meets Mistero Buffo meets Dante’s Inferno – set in a ‘Holy Land’ characterised by harsh divisions, barriers, walls, alienation – a state of affairs which the diabolical narrator finds entirely satisfactory. Until, right from the heart of this suffocating, intractable scenario, the Passion story erupts. A radical, transgressive story of love transcending fear and hatred, of non-violence in the face of oppression, hope breaking down barriers, the victory of vulnerability.The tragic events now unfolding in Israel-Palestine reminded me of this short piece I was asked to write about the play back in 2015:

http://www.justinbutcher.co.uk/no-more-walls/
I’ll be touring The Devil’s Passion in Italy throughout March 2024, starting with three nights at Theatro Technis, London, 2nd-4th March, then touring to the Anglican communities in Naples, Malta, Sicily, Venice, Milan, Florence & Rome, and including a performance at the Union Chapel, London, on Palm Sunday 24th March.

I’d be most grateful if you would kindly circulate the attached eflyer and encourage your friends to support this production.A special discount code has been created for subscribers to this mailing list, which will give you a 15% discount on tickets. Use the code PASSION24 when purchasing tickets to access your 15% discount offer.
Many thanks & best wishes – Justin Butcher


www.justinbutcher.co.uk/devilspassion/

View trailerThe Devil’s Passion 2023 audience Vox PopsView audience reactions from 2019 productionView audience reactions from 2016Hear DAVID SUCHET on The Devil’s Passion
‘The nuance of Butcher’s writing and the intelligence and rigour of its theology make The Devil’s Passion such a worthwhile and forceful piece of theatre, deeply engaged with a radical conception of spiritual reconciliation … theological expansiveness and fascinating elasticity of thought.’ THE STAGE‘There are not many actors currently alive, let alone in the Fringe, who can play Jesus, and Judas, and the Devil, in the same performance and get away with it. And Justin Butcher does … with clarity, precision and a mastery of the craft. He is a privilege to watch. There is a reason the gospel is told again and again in media. There are subtle meanings, new voices, modern ideas to be read into it, old ideas which have new meaning, even if the structure stays the same. The Devil’s Passion is a great example of why we shouldn’t be afraid of doing it.’ 4 STARS – George Lea, BROADWAY BABY ‘Butcher dances these scenes exquisitely … breathtaking, fluid and haunting.’ 5 STARS – Catherine Lamm, BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE ‘Thrilling, searing … Justin Butcher’s excellent and profoundly moving The Devil’s Passion plays at the Assembly George Square Studios … A profound meditation on Christ’s Gospel of Love and Solidarity, enacted with a deceptive directness and simplicity which conceals its great theological and dramaturgical depths. The Devil’s Passion is a coup de théâtre. I urge you to see it.’ Philip Crispin, INDEPENDENT CATHOLIC NEWS  http://www.justinbutcher.co.uk/devilspassion/ Read Justin’s recent interview in Theatre Weekly to learn more about the show.The Devil’s Passion was adapted recently as a major new drama for BBC R3, starring David Suchet, broadcast in 2017, hailed in The Observer as a ‘magnificent performance’ in a ‘satirical, darkly comic, thoroughly stimulating production [which] raises many theological and ethical questions’ and in The Sunday Telegraph as a ‘vivid, comic and lyrical twist on familiar events.’ THE DEVIL’S PASSION – press reactions ‘Satirical, darkly comic, thoroughly stimulating production’ The Observer ‘Vivid, comic and lyrical twist on familiar events’ The Sunday Telegraph
 ‘A vivid piece of storytelling, a visceral version of the Christ story, a bravura performance.’ British Theatre Guide ‘Simply outstanding, a very artful piece of theatre, deeply humane, utterly original.’ Plays to See ‘A terrific performance, startlingly original … it crackles with great lines.’ The Church Times ‘A light sandblasting for jaded souls, a gleefully heretical flavour … timely, beautifully-written, ingenious, poignant – an impressively versatile performance, in which Butcher’s writing shines.’ 
Huffington PostTHEATRO TECHNIS – 02/03/24-04/03/24 – BOOK TICKETSUNION CHAPEL – 24/03/24 – BOOK TICKETS