Here’s a curiosity: new writing that comes incredibly close to being pro-life and pro-faith. Playwright Ian Winterton’s adamant refusal to simply commend or condemn gives his dilemma-heavy piece its promise. Where he resists a tendency towards navel-gazing and nostalgia, ‘Baby Jesus Freak’ really tussles with its complexities.
Its spark is a drunken post-funeral fuck that leaves twentysomething Lauren pregnant by the ardently Christian Daniel, brother of her teenage sweetheart and son of the deceased. Lauren’s pro-choice stance doesn’t in itself constitute a decision and, as all of us navigate life without a full map, unknowable consequences nag. To choose at all, Winterton argues, takes faith, religious or otherwise.
That a daisy chain of rituals passes for structure (birth follows death; marriage follows divorce) suggest Winterton’s ambition is unmatched by nuance and director Matthew Gould and his cast do well to preserve credibility.
It’s not worth sticking around for ‘Stage Kiss’. Andrew Jones’s ‘luvvie’ comedy is paper-thin. Gould tries to save it with flippancy, but he should have left well alone.