James Martin, a senior Jesuit Priest, was involved as theological advisor during the writing, rehearsals and performance of LAByrinth Theater Company’s original production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. He writes: 
 
"The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, which ended a sold-out run at the Public Theater in New York City in April 2005, examines the fate of one of the most reviled men in history. Adly Guirgis provided a sophisticated theological treatment of the issue, in all the slangy (and sometimes foul-mouthed) urban argot for which he is known amongst theater aficionados.
 
Before my first meeting with Stephen [Adly Guirgis], his new play already had a long history. In a way, it had begun when Stephen was in third grade. That year, one of the Dominican sisters teaching at Corpus Christi told his class the story of Judas. Stephen was horrified. He believed in a loving God, and the idea that God had consigned Judas to a place called hell “just stopped me in my tracks”. How could God not feel sorry for Judas?
 
Theological questions were foremost in the playwright’s mind, and our conversations ranged from the broader questions about grace, forgiveness, and despair to more detailed inquiries into the history of the individual characters in the drama.
 
After all his research, Stephen wanted to hear what I thought about who killed Jesus. The responsibility for Jesus’ death was the underlying theme of his play, and the answer to the question of who was responsible would help us unlock the riddle of Judas Iscariot.
 
But the Gospels are murky about precisely what lay behind the death of Jesus. For the evangelists were not as concerned with providing a historically accurate picture as modern readers might assume. What [they] were intent on providing was not historical truth but something more elusive, and far more important for the early Christians: the religious meaning of the events in question.
 
Stephen’s use of the trial device would show the audience not only how but also why the death of Jesus occurred, shedding light on a notoriously dark topic. As I watched Stephen deal with the demands placed upon these scenes – the requirement to sort through so much history, the artistic need to keep the interest of the audience, and the sordid history of the Passion plays always lurking in the background – I was impressed with what he was able to accomplish."
 

Edited excerpts from A Jesuit Off-Broadway: Center Stage with Jesus, Judas, and Life’s Big Questions by James Martin, SJ (Loyola Press 2007). Reprinted with permission of Loyola Press. To order copies of this book contact Columba Bookservice at +353 1 294 2556 or visit www.columba.ie
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Further extracts from this book and other background information on the play and the cast/creative team is available in the production programme

Click here to download programme as a PDF document