This playful retelling of a mediaeval autobiography is a whirlwind tour through the life of a woman both tormented and thrilled by religious visions

The Book of Margery Kempe, by writer and director Natalie Lines, takes a fresh look at a mediaeval work by the same name, which some believe to be the first known autobiography in the English language. The real Margery Kempe, according to the book she dictated in the early 1400’s, spent her life experiencing the agony and ecstasy of all-consuming religious visions. In this new student-led dramatisation of Margery’s tale, Lines explores what drives a person to document their life, as Margery seeks to defend herself against accusations of heresy and prove that she does indeed have a personal relationship with Jesus.

An overworked wife with fourteen children, Margery is not whom the church would expect to see visions of Jesus, but she advocates fiercely for herself and her right to connect with a divine presence. In some ways, she was simply born a few centuries too early for the Protestant Reformation, as many Protestant sects believe that any individual may have a close relationship with God. However, in the late Middle Ages, when Margery confesses that her visions of Jesus have taken an erotic turn, she turns the town of King’s Lynn (called Bishop’s Lynn at the time) on its head.

Across the span of one swift hour, Lines’s snappy writing whisks audiences on a journey through years of Margery’s life, and follows her on one of her many pilgrimages. This work draws heavily on the imagery of Margery’s mystic experiences, with vivid hallucinations of animal imagery, overwhelming experiences of Jesus’s suffering, and romantic connections with Jesus himself. Much like Carlo Ginsburg’s The Cheese and the Worms, the source material for this play is a deep dive into the worldview of an allegedly heretical mediaeval Christian, but this production’s irreverent humour keeps it from feeling too scholarly. Akshit Ahuja plays an entertainingly suave Jesus, and Artemis Loynes and Theo Parkin provide some comedic moments as Margery’s sex-starved husband and an ornery pub owner.

The central challenge of this story, however, lies in how to evoke the intensity of Margery’s visions – this production effectively evokes the horror inherent in the violent religious imagery (like Jesus’s crucifixion) that most people have become inured to. Amenie Groves as Margery gives a strong performance which adds a great deal of pathos and humour to the show; she handles the transitions between mystical fervour and witty narration with ease, and her intense gaze holds audiences captive. Lines’s direction sees the cast use the uniquely-shaped stage to its best advantage, drawing the audiences in as witnesses to Margery’s testimony. Stan Hunt’s sound design provides jaunty tunes to accompany Margery’s journeys, and haunting soundscapes to add an oppressive atmosphere to her trances.

Overall, this student production is an engaging and quirky hour, with a good amount of heart and humour. The show dives into the mixed blessings of being chosen for a higher purpose, explores how mysticism allowed mediaeval women to circumvent the deeply patriarchal church to find their own callings, and leaves audiences eager to learn more about this fascinating mediaeval figure.