Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: John Cobb, Charlie Folorunsho, Amanda Hadingue, Iain Johnstone, Myra McFadyen, Hannah McPake, Dominic Marsh, John Pfumojena.
The state sanctioned death of a person who argues or probes the idea that there is no God seems an abhorrence to modern day British society, after all the freedom to question is one that we rightly hang onto with dogged grip, that must never be allowed to slip through our fingers lest dark days revisit the land; the freedom to assert a position against a God, monarchy and ruling classes is something that a more enlightened age must strive to keep.
For those born in another time, the thoughts they had concerning either King or the Kingdom of God could have seen them burnt, hanged or their heads removed from their bodies, the heretic never short of a martyrdom and the punishment due for having the wit to question authority. For young Scotsman Thomas Aikenhead, having such thoughts and coming up against a system that was weighted heavily against the individual, was enough to see him become a footnote in history but one whose story is superbly disclosed in renowned theatre company Told By An Idiot’s I Am Thomas.
Paul Hunter’s wonderful directing takes the story through a strange and fantastic array of modern pop culture references intertwined with the fascinating world that surrounded 17th Century political and church run life. It is somehow strangely familiar to see the play, a mini operetta in the same vein as Dead Dog In A Suitcase (and Other Love Songs), being performed with such passion and with lyrics written by one of Britain’s finest poets, Simon Armitage, I Am Thomas is to be seen as alluring and a captivating piece of theatre.
The plight of Thomas Aikenhead is still sadly relevant today, not only in the world of religion where in some parts of the world to dismiss or question the idea of a deity is to almost put a death sentence upon yourself but also in a world, a place far too chillingly close to home, where to question Government is a sign that you could be called a traitor or a national heretic; to place doubt on a minister’s ideology may as well send you to a dark hole or prison. It is a credit to the Told By An Idiot Company that they got this message across without detracting away from the story of Thomas Aikenhead.
A gracious piece of theatre, one that never stops entertaining or informing; I Am Thomas is a play that in a world teetering on the edge of a backwards looking abyss, can be learned from.
Ian D. Hall