Paul (play)

Paul
Written by	Howard Brenton
Date premiered	30 September 2005
Original language	English
Subject	Life of Paul the Apostle
Setting	1st century Judaea
Official site

Paul is a 2005 play by Howard Brenton, which portrays the life and career of Paul the Apostle. It was first performed in the Cottesloe auditorium of the National Theatre, London from 30 September 2005 – 4 February 2006, in modern dress.

The press night was postponed due to the exhaustion of Paul Rhys and his replacement by Adam Godley, while the National received 200 letters of complaint even before opening night. It portrayed Jesus as having survived the Crucifixion and his appearance to Paul outside Damascus as a chance encounter engineered by his wife Mary Magdalene and Peter rather than the vision which Paul takes it to be.

Cast

Cast and crew of the first production:

Crew

• Director - Howard Davies
• Designer - Vicki Mortimer
• Lighting Designer - Paule Constable
• Music - Dominic Muldowney
• Sound Designer - John Leonard

Cast

• Mary Magdalene - Kellie Bright
• Nero - Richard Dillane
• Ensemble - Tas Emiabata and Eugene Washington
• Paul - Paul Rhys / Adam Godley
• James - Paul Higgins
• Roman Gaoler - Dermot Kerrigan
• Peter - Lloyd Owen
• Yeshua (Jesus) - Pearce Quigley
• Arab Trader - Howard Saddler
• Barnabas - Colin Tierney

External links

• Review in The Stage
• Interview with Brenton in The Guardian