Agnes of God
Agnes of God
By John Pielmeier
Directed by Jim Cundiff
Breakthrough Theatre, Winter Park, FL</strong>
With an arrogance begotten from the power of Almighty God on one hand and weak secular power the Catholic Church developed a cancer that still infests it – propriety and papering over scandal are more important that obeying the laws of man, never mind those of God. Simple minded Sister Agnes (Jenny Ornstein) is up on manslaughter charges for a dead infant she was never supposed to have. Its possible God touched her with the spark of parthenogenesis and gave her a child she was unprepared to deliver. Mother Miriam Ruth (Katrina Tharin) prefers to hide the truth and believe in a miracle, unprotected sex with a deity is more acceptable than with a celibate priest or maintenance man. It’s a sordid little situation and the court has appointed Dr. Martha Livingstone (Vicki Burns) to penetrate the jungle of facts and obfuscations. Mother Marian reports “I can smell an ex-Catholic a mile away” and the tension is set – the mysteries of religious faith tackle faith in Psychology and hypnotism. Just as you don’t know if you’re destined for heaven or hell until it’s too late, Sister Agnes is hovering between prison and a mental hospital but there is still hope for the pleasant purgatory of eternal life in the convent.
This is powerful stuff, even if there are some dated elements in the story line. Burns’ polyester clad psychologist never seems to finish her magic stage cigarette, and she uses it as a small weapon. Her opening barb to Mother Miriam is “Does this bother you?” Mother Miriam’s rebuttal is essentially “You don’t need to talk to the girl; I know everything you need to know.” The cigarette remains lit and the wall of obfuscation remain until the women find detente in the last act. It’s a well fought battle, Miriam wields tradition and hoards her pool of critical facts, and Livingstone grinds her down with persistence and the suspicion that something is not right. Both are powerful warriors, both stand on high moral ground, and their war of attrition is compressed for maximum drama. Standing on the side is the obsessed Sister Agnes – her tale of abuse and abandonment is punctuated by your indecision about here internal metal state – is it true she is “simple” because her brain is wired wrong, or because she’s been locked up and denied human contact and exposure to any sort of human culture? Either way she’s a tragic character, alone except for her faith, and misused by those who ought to help her. Set on a small dark stage there little to distract from this psychological thriller, and there’s enough tension to chew the fingernails of the guy sitting next to you.
For more information, please visit http://www.breakthroughtheatre.com
