‘The Christians’ at Bristol Riverside: When deeply held beliefs are challenged

Bristol Riverside Theatre closes its season with Lucas Hnath’s The Christians, on stage through May 19. Area theatergoers will be familiar with the young playwright’s oeuvre, which includes productions at the Arden (A Doll’s House, Part 2), Theatre Exile (Red Speedo), and Philadelphia Theatre Company (Hillary and Clinton, now on Broadway with Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow). The Wilma staged The Christians in 2016.

Throughout his still-young but prolific career, Hnath has shown a keen interest in disrupting theatrical expectations. The Christians is no exception. Set in an unnamed megachurch (rendered authentically by set designer Paige Hathaway), it features a full choir that punctuates the action with spiritual songs and shouts. Hnath also has his characters speak nearly all of their dialogue, including private asides, into handheld microphones, resulting in a disquieting dissonance.

The play addresses how people handle challenges to their deeply held beliefs. Hnath depicts a church where congregants adore their leader, Pastor Paul (Anthony Lawton), and uphold his principles without question. So when Paul announces his newfound conviction that Hell doesn’t exist, he effectively renders it doctrine — a move that forces his flock uncomfortably to abandon its core theology.

Paul holds a direct line to God, and, as Hnath presents it, he comes to hear a new note of mercy in the Lord’s voice. The bounty of His love envelops all; even Hitler could be saved by it. Paul no longer conceives Hell as a literal place, but rather as a metaphor for a soul in torment.

If the question of faith rests on a schism between the sinners and the saved, this radical view of God’s clemency surely unsettles many believers. Under Matt Pfeiffer’s precise direction, it even seems to subsume the man who professes it.

Lawton communicates the inner turmoil that causes Pastor Paul to cleave his congregation — his sunken, searching eyes burn with the assurance of his righteousness, but they also brim with vulnerability. He presents a person who understands the risk he takes in speaking his truth, and who maybe regrets putting himself on the line, but he acts in the only way he feels can align with God’s plan.

A sense of absolute clarity comes in the form of associate pastor Joshua, played with rock-ribbed rectitude by Akeem Davis. He belongs to the fire-and-brimstone tradition, the kind of faith that cannot abide wishy-washy concessions to doubt. He believes, with total conviction, that his backsliding mother suffers eternal damnation due to her rigid refusal to accept Christ.

Hnath allows enough backstory to suggest that unyielding faith is a life raft for Joshua, and it is a testament to Davis’ talent that this character never feels like a cartoonish caricature of dogmatic pomposity.

Paul faces challenges from all sides, including his wife (an affecting Susan McKey) and a well-meaning parishioner (K. O’Rourke) who clings to the church for a sense of purpose in her troubled life. Ultimately, The Christians introduces more questions than it answers, leaving its audience many avenues for extended dialogue about spiritual sustenance. Bristol’s fine production starts a conversation that should continue long after everyone leaves the theater.

Through May 19 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe St., Bristol. Tickets: $10-50. Information: 215-785-0100, brtstage.org.