The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a play by Stephen Adly Guirgis in 2005. It was first staged at The Public Theater in New York and was mostly critically acclaimed. I also consider this play entertaining and thought-provoking.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot was full of emotions. To my mind, it was equally a playwright’s and actors’ merit for channeling them to the audience. Many of those who read the Bible and those who are simply aware of the relationship between Jesus and Judas are expected to be judgmental of the latter. However, the play causes people to reconsider the role of Judas in the death of Jesus and look at the matter from the different side. I believe, this is what attracted the artists to play parts in it. Actors are the people who often put on masks of different persons, live different lives and, therefore, can see the world through a prism of various views. If were an actor, this is what I would like the audience to feel. I would like the people in the hall to see a presumably superficial conflict as a complex mix of thoughts, ideas, actions, and feelings. For an actor it would be a greatest pleasure to know that the viewers exit the theater with something changed in them, with something new on their mind. The reason for this is that the theater is not an only an entertainment and actors are not clowns; they act to invoke a thought and a feeling.
To my mind, the artists have played marvellously. Critics often rate their professionalism by the skills of reproducing the speech, movements and the ability to merge into the character. I would add that their job could also be rated by the emotions they managed to convey. However, it is hard to imagine how this criterion can be assessed because not many people are willing to share their deep feelings. Even those who decided to express themselves could be not letting all that is on their minds. When my opinion is concerned, I could not express how much I have been shocked by what I saw and heard. I left the theater in silence because I felt like I needed time to contemplate all the information I received. During the play I smiled, laughed, cried, flushed with anger, and froze in terror. All of those emotions were communicated to me by the actors. Their professionalism and skill made it all happen. Specifically, I would like to mention the actor playing the Judge. He was very convincing and lively. Probably, the only thing that I would have changed is the setting. For me, it seemed excessively modern for a biblical story. Perhaps it was the main idea to bring the biblical story to the modern world but, from my point of view, it is already timely and the plot would not be ruined because of it.
I would definitely recommend a friend to attend the next staging because the play literally lets one reassess the inner values they previously felt were fundamental. In terms of the scenery, it was quite simplistic but made so intentionally. In a way it matched the biblical idea of purgatory where was a complete nothingness, so the abundance of details would be a downside. The lighting is what added the spice to play, as it was always timely bright or timely dark to set the audience in the right mood. The costumes seemed rather strange and not always fitting actors. Perhaps, this was a mistake by the wardrobe master or I did not recognize the idea behind such style.
All things considered, I will remember this play for a long time and definitely attend it once again. It provides an immersive experience and lets people laugh, reflect, juxtapose, and think. This is what makes it marvelous.