The Nun and the Highwayman

This is an intriguing premise for a play and allows for a variety of religious, moral, ethical and political themes to be explored. Farley describes it as a weird play but the encounter he imagines is not unlike that experienced by the soldier John McBurney (Clint Eastwood) in the film The Beguiled (Seigel 1971). Rescued by his enemy McBurney is forced to use his charm and wits to survive his ordeal and, in doing so, in some ways discovers the depths of his depravity.

The Highwayman (Martin Hoggart) is also hovering between rescue and captivity as he faces The Nun (Anna Clark) who holds him at gunpoint while he reveals the truth of his crimes. Clark portrays The Nun with steely resolve which makes her ability to weild a gun very convincing. Her determined interrogation of The Highwayman allows the various fascinating themes to unfold. Hoggart relies a little too heavily on profanity as a strategy to shape his character and the context of the encounter could be more defined.

The Nun and the Highwayman seem to exist in a different plane and dimensions of time, even though the setting and lighting suggest a historical era. Some further development of stage and lighting techniques could also help to assert a more precise and deliberate effect in this very imaginative play.

Patricia Di Risio