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Post by Mary van Ogtrop

Now that the most wonderful, family-filled and gift-giving time of the year is behind us, it’s the perfect time to get demonic with The Screwtape Letters.

Based on C.S. Lewis’ 1942 novel “” categorized as Christian fiction “” The Screwtape Letters is a sexy, comical and often explosive (read: fire-eating) exploration of the seven deadly sins.

Anthony Lawton, recently named Philadelphia’s “Best One-Man Theatre” by City Paper, stars as Screwtape, a mid-level demon trying to mentor his nephew Wordwood, a “newbie” demon, in the ways of tempting a soul into a lustful and debaucherous life. Genevieve Perrier is his chain-smoking, tight-lipped secretary “” and a bit of a temptress in her own right.

Lawton is incredible in his own adaptation of the novel, spinning out Screwtape’s monologues with the devilish stoicism of a master rhetorician. But all Screwtape’s wit and witticisms don’t add up to much when he’s stuck in, well, Hell. None of his musings on double standards, self-centeredness and all-out hedonism can help him understand the Christian notion of love. And that drives him crazy.

Lawton and Perrier light up St. Stephen’s Theater with truly interactive (and very athletic) performances, where multimedia displays inform the narrative and techno music or Led Zeppelin can lead to a dance number at any moment. Fair warning: some of the imagery in the play can be a little unsettling. But that’s sin, baby.

The Lantern Theater Company
http://www.lanterntheater.org

Lantern Theater Company @ St. Stephen’s Theater
10th and Ludlow, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 829-0395
www.lanterntheater.org