Five Visions of the Faithful
Five Visions of the Faithful was first performed at The White Bear Theatre, London on 10 October 2000, with the following cast:
the invention of morality
FLACK, a security guard with wings, Peter Kenvyn
SQUITS, a security guard without, Nigel Barrett
what the butterflies said
CAROLINE, a mother and lover, Joan Walker
LIZZIE, an imaginative child, Rosie Morris
THOMAS, an enthusiastic scientist, Nigel Barrett
GODFREY, a lepidopterist, Terry Edwards
i am the knife
PRIEST, an alcoholic, Ian Lindsay
SCREW, a sadist with a fine sense of dress, Bill Stewart
INMATE, an enemy of the state, Peter Kenvyn
WOMAN, his wife, Illona Linthwaite
GIRL, his daughter, Rosie Morris
HANGMAN, a hooded fellow, Costa Milton
the art of being alone
MARY, a beggarwoman, Illona Linthwaite
SUITMAN, an office worker, Peter Kenvyn
STUDENTBOY, a world-changer, Costa Milton
STUDENTGIRL, a compassionate academic, Sheena Irving
TATTOOLAD, a dispossessed youth, Nigel Barrett
a lesson in arbitration
REBECCA, a servant, Natasha Joseph
PILATE, the Roman governor of Judaea, George Pensotti
COMEDIAN, a man of the people, Costa Milton
TERRORIST, a man of the people, Nigel Barrett
Director, Peter Craze
Designer, Philip Witcomb
Lighting Designer, Stuart Billinghurst
Composer, David Schweitzer
Assistant Director, Yael Shavit
Nigel Barrett (SQUITS) and Peter Kenvyn (FLACK) in The Invention of Morality, White Bear Theatre, London, October 2000.
...strongly-worded...imaginative and ironic...Betts has more humanity and contradiction (than) Edward Bond and Howard Barker...radical, critical, foul-mouthed and rude...shows us the virtues of theatrical vice.
MICHAEL COVENEY, THE OBSERVER
This wonderfully vulgar satire...creepy, terrifying, confusing and disturbing...
THREE WEEKS IN EDINBURGH
Fans of Torben Betts could never accuse him of indulging in light, frothy entertainment... ..brutal...consistently riveting...ambitious, thoughtful...a master of dialogue...
EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
...cutting-edge theatre...I was fascinated, moved...
BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE
(Betts) excels himself in marrying the philosophical and the theatrical in the manner of Howard Barker...
WHAT'S ON IN LONDON
Vicious, visceral...ferocious...tightly-controlled structure and forceful precision of language...There’s an irony here worthy of the films of Luis Bunuel. This is the Fringe at its most purposeful and vibrant.
REVIEWS GATE
...fierce...uncompromising, with a theatrical range all the way from naturalistic to surreal...Betts’ physical savagery...angry passion...
THE SCOTSMAN
...old-fashioned outrage...
THE TIMES
...these dark and twisted tragicomic narratives...offer us tangential perspectives on the struggle between rationalism and divinity...
TIME OUT
…enigmatic, powerful…the ultimate post-modern play, depicting a shattered world, a realisation of Nietszche’s fears at the death of God, with a destitute Virgin Mary and recalcitrant Jesus bewailing their social decline…
VARSITY MAGAZINE
Bill Stewart as the SCREW in I Am The Knife, White Bear Theatre, London. October 2000.