St Mary's Pro-Cathedral, Carden Place, Aberdeen

Pro-Cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney

Book and Film Reviews

Theatre Review

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Love Beyond by Ramesh Meyyappan

This was an extraordinary, wonderful play using non hearing and hearing actors, with the beauty of sign language woven into a love story and tale of dementia which came to the Lemon Tree for two nights in September .

Increasingly, we are lucky enough to have shows and plays come to Aberdeen which have been successful at the Edinburgh Fringe. ‘Love Beyond’ by Ramesh Meyyappen and directed by Matthew Lenton is one such play. It is a poignant and thoughtful story about the experience of dementia as Harry arrives into formal Care . Visually stunning,the show is at the cutting edge of theatre and is just not the sort of thing we usually see here in Aberdeen.

In this love story, we see Harry’s memories through 3 large windows looking out of his room, which are in fact 2 way mirrors. It helps us see how memories often seem like new, fresh events to a dementia sufferer. We experience his memories through the windows as they become a live scene of him falling in love with his wife. By using a non hearing main character we also see the difficulties in communication and the reality of memories to a dementia sufferer. In a lovely moment the carer explains she has only had a 2 hour BSL introduction before her new, completely deaf, client arrives. The carer not being fluent in sign language made me think of the problems of communication present in hearing dementia patients too.

The story is tender and complex and shows the viewpoint of both the sufferer and the carer. The kindness and complexity of being a carer is wonderfully shown. As she starts to learn BSL( British Sign Language) sign language, Harry is forgetting his BSL and finally he is left with just himself in a touching and realistic story. Although supported by the BDA (British Deaf Association ) this story is just as relevant to the world of dementia. Like the best of shows, in just over an hour, it communicates fresh insights on a disease known and feared by many.

It is an exceptional piece of theatre, very thought provoking and creatively done

This play is touring Scotland and still has dates in Tron, Glasgow 3-5th, Macroberts Arts Centre, Stirling October 9th and Eden Court,Inverness October 16/17, see it if you can.

Julia House

Book Review

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David Greig, Columba’s Bones: This is the tale of what happened on Iona after a Viking raid wiped out all the monks and other inhabitants, except for one young monk and the widow of the smith and, unexpectedly, one of the Vikings. It’s a witty, coarse and lovely tale by turns, quick to read but with lots to think about, including what is service to God and what is martyrdom, and what, in the end, faith is.

If you have read an interesting book and would like to tell us about it, please contact the editor

Book Review

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Paula Gooder, Body – Biblical Spirituality for the Whole Person: In this short book Gooder explores Christian attitudes to the body, diving back into perceptions of body, flesh, spirit and soul in Jewish tradition and Greek philosophy, both of which would have fed into the writings of Paul on which the book concentrates. Where our faith is situated, how our bodies are regarded and should be treated, how they are used in our connexions with each other – hand shaking, body language, and so on – what part of ‘us’ survives after death or is resurrected and when, all are explored, and the conclusions Gooder reaches are perhaps surprising. As always, she tackles a difficult subject in a very readable way, with a good deal for the reader to think about.

If you have read an interesting book and would like to tell us about it, please contact the editor

Book Review: The Healing

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Joy Margetts, The Healing: A soldier, wounded in a battle he had no intention of surviving, finds himself recovering in a monastery. There are so many unanswered questions at the beginning of this book you have to read on, and if the soldier himself is grumpy, you do want to know why, and the monks are lovely, good-humoured and clever. This is an overtly Christian book with Bible passages included – if I have a gripe it is that they are from a translation I don’t much like, but otherwise it’s a very well-written, beautifully researched, and well-plotted book, and makes the reader eager to read the next in the – not sure it’s a series, as such, but the family of books.

If you have read an interesting book and would like to tell us about it, please contact the editor.

Book Review

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Steel Angels, by Magdalen Smith

Based on the criteria used to help select clergy in the Church of England (very similar to the ones we use here in the SEC), this book examines the role of a priest today, the challenges they face and the expectations laid on them in modern society. It’s aimed at clergy, but it makes a very interesting read for the lay person, particularly in a charge where we are starting to think about what kind of clergy we want at St. Mary’s and what they might be expected to do. It’s also a very helpful insight for lay people who might be considering their own vocation, or who work with ordinands or the ordained, or who simply see a dog collar and wonder what goes on in the person wearing it. Smith draws on images from art and films to illustrate her account, and adds a useful bibliography for anyone interested in the role of the church today.

If you have read an interesting book and would like to tell us about it, please contact the editor.