The current battle-ground between faith and science (occasionally advertised as "religion versus reason" but any attempt to easily define the two factions is bound to collapse into name-calling) leaves theatre in an awkward position. Rather like the question of arts' funding, there are arguments on both sides, and a great deal of the conflict's heat is generated by straw-man arguments. But theatre, which has a natural affinity for using powerful symbolism, is sometimes more comfortable using an almost religious sensibility as it grapples with large issues.
Take Sacred and Profane. Their latest production stars a classic version of Satan, all temptation and magic. And while I am sympathetic to the religious impulse, both on and off stage, my first question is whether director David Zoob has a particular spiritual agenda.
"It’s not about being some sort of Holy Joe Theatre Company," Zoob puts my mind at rest. "But we are interested in moments in the theatre that you might call ‘spiritual’. Where it’s not just about ideas or emotions, but something else that kicks in. It’s hard to define but we know it when we experience it."
This moment - which I experienced most powerfully during VSPRS by Les Ballets C de la B, and whenever I see Iona Kewney's collaborations with Joe Quimby - is both the triumph of performance, and a problem. Not only is it unfashionable, it is hard to explain and has inspired a strand of criticism that sinks comfortably into mysticism. I've been reading up on theory for the Fringe, and much of what once passed for analysis is revealed as a sort of theology.
Zoob continues. "It happens in lots of great plays and shows – Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, at the end of Miller’s Crucible. We hope that by playing with the interaction of music and theatre and storytelling, we might stumble across it." While I might try to define this moment as the result of the complete immersion of the audience, it is intensely personal. Having been brought up on the intensity of Tramway's programming, it has become my holy grail for performance, and although I am tempted to use universal terms to discuss it, I am very aware that my own taste and history determine its nature. For example, it tends to happen during dance shows for me, and I watch a great deal of dance.
Fortunately, Zoob does share some of my history. "I saw Peter Brook’s Mahabharata when I had just graduated," he says - and Mahabharata was an early Tramway visitor. "And then recently his show THE SUIT. I loved the way the pieces were so rich and complex and the staging was so simple at the same time. The heart and soul of the material was too important for his Director’s ego to get in the way. We are n’t at that level, but it’s something to aspire to."
Sacred and Profane's ambition is no bad thing: and while Brook was once a game-changer, his recent work has revealed a more gentle approach, which, again, can descend into a simplistic representation of faith in terms of acceptance and compassion. This doesn't necessary reflect the reality of lived religious belief, and it is a relief that Zoob isn't just about the fuzzy warmth. "We like the opposite too – rough earthy storytelling, humour, guts energy and all that," he laughs.
With a story based on The Destruction of Kreshev by Isaac Bashevis Singer, a live Klezmar score and a promise to explore the boundaries between faith and hysteria Satan's Playgroud has a tough-headed approach. The plot centres around Satan's attempt to destroy a village through love - even if it seems that lust is really his tool.
Warming to the theme, Zoob elaborates. "It seems to me that the story reveals the dangers of Faith. The villagers believe that the crop failure is a punishment for the sexual indiscretion of two prominent members of their community. They are too busy trying to deal with their guilt and with punishing the sinners, to take practical steps to deal with the threat of famine." Of course, in Greek tragedy, this would make sense: Oedipus Rex is based on exactly this problem.
But Singer's influence leads the production out of the mythical and into something closer to magic realism. "His early stories are a wonderful combination of earthy human realities – sex, love, hate, intrigue – with otherworldly ‘realities’ and extremes – magic, spiritual yearning, superstition, religious obsession," says Zoob. "It makes for rich storytelling and lends itself to the thing we like to do which is to look at the way music, digital sound and drama can interact to create something powerful and memorable."
Satan fits nicely: he might not be the most topical of characters - even the Christian Churches can be reluctant to mention him - but his status is undisputed. From the imp of Job, through his period as the stock villain in Morality plays to his twentieth century role as the suave instigator in The Rolling Stones' classic, Satan has all the bases of evil covered. "In the show, Satan is a seductive, charming and self-congratulatory storyteller. I am not sure if we should always trust him," Zoob admits. Yet this devil has not been ignoring the social diminution of his power. "He questions his own power at the end. So in the final moments he comes across as resentful and insecure: the people of Kreshev were so wrapped up in their own guilt and suffering that they didn’t pay attention to him and his conviction that he destroyed them."
There is a further strand of contemporary evil at work: the show's tagline “It's well known: women bring misfortune” is, Zoob acknowledges "a provocation. The story bears this out – if you see the world through the eyes of a traditional and Patriarchal society." And for Zoob, the patriarchy is not dead. "There are plenty of them about and plenty of communities in Britain who see things in this way. Consequently they think it’s important for women to dress ‘modestly’ and wear wigs, headscarves, hijabs or burkas in order to protect men from temptation and from the misfortune it can bring."
Apart from the spiritual preoccupations, Sacred and Profane are striving towards a vision of total theatre: the live musicians, the use of technology, the twin influences of physical and story-led performance suggests the company are willing to use whatever they need to impress their point. If the Fringe can sometimes be associated with unambitious chancers and cheap attempts to get attention, Sacred and Profane are chasing the big questions of life and drama with gusto.
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012, 2nd-26th August 14.20 (no show 13th)
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