“The choice of every lost soul can be expressed in the words ‘Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.” “There have been men before … who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself … as if the good Lord had nothing to do but to exist. There have been some who were so preoccupied with spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ.” “We know nothing of religion here: we only think of Christ.”
These are just some of the powerful quotes from one of C.S. Lewis’ outstanding works: “The Great Divorce,” a parable about a bus ride from hell to heaven.
A free virtual production of ‘The Great Divorce’ will be presented by FPA as a four-day run premiering on Nov. 15, 2020 at 3 p.m. (Central Standard Time) and continuing until Nov. 18, 2020.
“‘The Great Divorce’ looks at the eternal consequences of our day-to-day choices and does so with the wit, insight and empathy one expects from him. Lewis imagines a dismal Gray Town, a stand-in for a sort of hell, where many inhabitants take a bus ride to paradise. They’re offered the chance to stay … if they will forego the sins that damned them in the first place,” said Max McLean, Founder and Artistic Director of Fellowship of Performing Arts.
An FPA stage presentation of “The Great Divorce” premiered in 2014 and has been touring nationally since 2019. Because COVID has interrupted live stage productions, FPA decided to do something different with this very popular show.
McLean said, “Through the magic of green-screen technology, we are able to film actors individually and separately, then combine them into a virtual presentation that I think viewers will find engaging, much like a live presentation brought to the small screen.”
This particular play is very timely for both Christian and non-Christian viewers. FPA, whose mission is to create theatre and film from a Christian worldview for diverse audiences, is also including a question-and-answer session after the show in order to engage those attending and see how it has affected them.
“It’s particularly relevant to all audiences today as the concepts of truth, good and evil are under attack. Lewis takes aim at William Blake’s epic ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ in which he imagines a time where the distinction between good and evil will disappear. In ‘The Great Divorce,’ Lewis argues very creatively that that will never happen,” said McLean.
“The main takeaway is that our choices matter. Our choices shape us and choosing what we know to be good is eternally important,” McLean said.
FPA wanted to give back to their patrons and, as such, there’s no ticket price for the November events. There will be an opportunity to donate during the virtual presentation and it’s also possible to help FPA by going to their “Support” page at FPAtheatre.com.
To register for this free event, go to FPAtheatre.com, find the “Free Virtual Event,” and click “Register for Free.” Registration is required in order to get the link for the show.
Because of the outstanding response to the event so far, FPA anticipates putting on one or two more virtual shows over the next few months.
To sign up for their mailing list to receive information about upcoming shows, go to the “Support” page on their website, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Stay in Touch.”
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