A passionate debate about women and religion
Unholy
(out of 4) Written by Diane Flacks. Directed by Kelly Thornton. Until Feb. 5 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. buddiesInbadtimes.com, 416-979-8555
Diane Flacks’ newest play is a grab bag of contemporary references and completely immersed in the social and political conversation of 2017.
In Unholy, a production by Nightwood Theatre, four women assemble for a debate broadcast on YouTube to answer the question: “Should women abandon religion?”
Drawing on current stories like the burkini ban in France, the debate plays out like an intensely smart and well-informed Facebook thread.
Inspired by her own shift from Judaism to antitheism (an active disbelief in a God or gods and belief that theism is harmful to society), Flacks plays Liz Feldman-Grant, a queer, devout and formerly Jewish antitheist with an award-winning book and a loyal following. She is the most aggressive of the foursome in her insistence that organized religion should be dissolved. Also on the “Yes” side is Barbara Gordon as Margaret Donohue, an ex-nun who was excommunicated from the Church but remains a self-professed Catholic.
On the “No” side are Bahareh Yaraghi as Maryam Hashemi, a young, single, feminist Muslim woman, and Niki Landau as Yehudit Kalb, a fe- male “rabba” in the Orthodox Jewish faith with a husband and three kids.
The majority of the play is a fastpaced, passionate debate about many issues that basically boils down to two questions: Should society respect a woman’s right to choose what to believe and how to express that belief; or is the best way for women to protest misogyny and intolerance within organized religion to completely remove themselves from it? Flacks is careful to present each debater as flawed but fierce, and when homophobic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and sexist aggressions arise, they are rightfully called out.
Unholy might not sway you from your original view, but those debate scenes are very watchable and clear under the direction of Nightwood’s artistic director Kelly Thornton.
Flacks’s attempts to round out the characters are clunkier, however. Maryam and Liz, for instance, are shown the previous night after a group dinner. Having the nature of their relationship revealed adds another layer to the tension within the debate. Unfortunately, the characters of Yehudit and Margaret don’t get the same care. Their scenes occur further back in their pasts.
Unholy might help to situate some feelings of existential dread floating around with Donald Trump being inaugurated and the Women’s March on Washington.
If a higher power, or lack thereof, brings any feelings of calm or purpose, we’ll take it.