Unreconciled – refusing to be silenced by clerical abuse (Lyric Theatre as part of Belfast International Arts Festival) #BIAF25

Joe Sefton chain smokes. We can hear him sucking on each drag. He suggests wrapping the local Catholic church in “you are entering the scene of a crime” tape. It’s a striking image and just part of his relentless campaigning to hold church authorities to account for abuse and unsympathetic reparation processes run by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

We watch as an 8th grade class elect Joe’s son Jay to play the part of Jesus in the popular local passion play directed by the young and trendy priest Father Tom Smith. The finale promises a sweet moment in the arms of his school year crush. Rehearsals are intense, more so because the priest singles ‘Jesus’ out for intimate attention. With the passion play over, Father Smith takes young lads away for boozy outward bounds adventures. He wrestles with Jay in the family’s living room while his parents cook dinner.

The sole performer switches between characters mid-sentence: the voice and mannerisms of the local gossip are a particular highlight. We learn that the portrayal of the abuser deliberately offers no hint of warmth. We watch the performer breathe life into a mother who doesn’t believe that her son was really abused – “everyone wants to be a victim these days” is an incredible response – blaming Jay rather than the creepy abuser or her own lack of curiosity and oversight. It’s a real contrast to the fervent support by his angry father who wants to see justice done.

The action keeps returning to a meeting that’s been organised with church authorities to listen to Jay outlining the alleged abuse. It will feed into a compensation claim process. Yet we witness the ignominy of such a serious and traumatic moment being interrupted by a mobile phone ringing. The sound effects in this show are sparse, but when they are triggered, you’ll jump in your seat as they come out of nowhere, synchronised perfectly with the dialogue and the actor’s precise movements.

The cutdown set used in this touring production brings the storytelling to the fore with just a chair, a table and a projector screen. The audience are deliberately lit throughout the performance. We’re not afforded the luxury of watching the story unfold on an isolated stage. Instead, we’re being silently asked to consider our part in the universal aspects of the story: abuse that goes unchallenged, blaming survivors over perpetrators, not holding organisations to account that are only going through the motions of being sorry.

Unreconciled is an autobiographical play. I had to pinch myself throughout to remember that the actor on stage wasn’t just playing Jay Sefton, but the actor was Jay Sefton. This is his story. That’s him up on screen in the original video footage from the passion play. The most emotionally-charged moments come when he morphs into his father Joe around whom the play ultimately revolves.

Legal action isn’t an option for Jay as the state of Pennsylvania hasn’t amended the statute of limitations that would allow survivors to sue church authorities. He declined a paltry offer of compensation by the archdiocese that would have required him to sign away his voice. Instead, and as a direct consequence of the legislators’ failure, Jay relates his story to audiences across the US and Europe.

While the subject-matter is dark, Sefton’s co-writer Mark Basquill and Belfast-born director Geraldine Hughes let the natural Philly humour shine through the cracks.

Institutional and clerical abuse was for so long a taboo subject across the island of Ireland. Silence protected perpetrators and survivors were cloaked in shame. With some notable exceptions, books and films have tended to tell stories of abuse more than plays. While Unreconciled is sadly a familiar story, this particular tale ultimately celebrates choosing righteous anger over all out rage, and finding ways to personally reconcile what’s happened without being further insulted by an organisation wishing to draw a line under its heinous sins without offering any real reconciliation.

Unreconciled was staged in the Lyric Theatre as part of Belfast International Arts Festival. The show moves to the Mick Lally Theatre in Galway on Friday 31 October and Saturday 1 November.

Photo credits: Dennis Crommett and Andrew Greto

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