NPX Weekly Round-Up: Revenge of Eve by April Lavalle
If you were raised Catholic (and no longer are one) this one's for you! Plus, three other plays that caught my eye this week.
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When I was 16 years old, I was confirmed in the Catholic church. At the time, this wasn’t something I really had strong feelings about one way or the other— which maybe should be an indicator that people under 18 shouldn’t make large religious decisions, but I digress. While my parents were never those Christians/Catholics, I was made to go to CCD taught by adults that were. Combine that with my first serious boyfriend being from a large fundamentalist Christian family, and you have a recipe for some tasty ~religious trauma~. Needless to say, I’m an agnostic Pagan now.
I know the topic of deconstruction and religious trauma is sort of “trendy” currently. Lots of amazing artistic work has come out of it— everything from music to movies to poetry to plays! And if it’s something you experienced, especially during your formative years, it’s probably a topic you consume a lot of media about (I’m a die hard “Fundie Fridays” fan). In some way, I think it’s healing. On top of that, some of these pieces also call out very dangerous things that have been happening in these Christian communities— particularly Catholic communities. And that’s something I definitely want to support.
Revenge of Eve by April Lavalle is one of these works.
Before I get too into it, here is the summary from NPX:
Frustrated and ready for a change, Raven, a former Catholic turned Satanist embarks on creating her own Satanic-Feminist religion. Unfortunately, her congregation doesn’t quite agree on how things should be run. As they approach their first big public demonstration, secrets are revealed, plans go awry, and everyone’s faith is questioned.
(CW: onstage violence, discussions of abortion, rape, and religious trauma)
This script is in turns hilarious, topical, fascinating, terrifying, and heartwarming. The main group we follow are four young people in their 20’s, all searching for community for different reasons. There is also the character of the priest, who we see intermittently giving sermons. If you’re a former Catholic, Baptist, or Fundie, these speeches will probably sound familiar to you.
These characters all do eventually collide at the climax of the play, but are otherwise always clearly separated. If they are on stage at the same time, they are spaced out and clearly in different places— almost in different realities. With how Lavalle creates the world on the stage, it is almost impossible to see these two distinct “groups” as living in the same dimension. Revenge of Eve— the Satanic Feminist religion originally created by Raven and joined by Lilith, Dante, and Emily— are a group of jaded 20-somethings who want to stand up to the organized religion and patriarchy that has harmed them (albeit in very different ways), and this priest and his unseen congregation are constantly preaching hate towards women and LGBTQ+ people. They are on two clear sides of a very real war. The division is not only clear, but a story element, playing into the ideas of power presented by both sides.
Power is a huge thing in this play. We see it in the way the priest talks to his congregation; the way that Raven and Lilith struggle for control over Revenge of Eve (ROE); in how the ROE members have each been traumatized by the Catholic Church; and in how the patriarchy holds power over people who aren’t cis men. Lavalle does an excellent job in portraying a believable power struggle between Raven and Lilith especially. As a reader I saw for myself Raven’s weak leadership and Lilith’s ability to steam-roll, and yet they still had such a believable friendship. It was nuanced, complex, and so engaging.
Community was also such a clear theme, what with all the members of ROE coming to the group for reasons that seemed very different, but actually came down to one thing: they were all looking for people that believed in them. Dante is looking for a group that is trying to make grassroots change for the betterment of the community he lives in; Emily is an immigrant looking for a group to help her figure out and survive in a new country; Raven is searching for belonging after getting kicked out of her church community for being gay; and Lilith— well. Lilith is a whole other story I will not reveal, since it would get spoiler-y.
I learned a few things from this play— one, that you should know your themes and return to them periodically to create a strong and cohesive storyline; and two, power in a scene can be conveyed not only through dialogue and staging, but in the placement of characters and important set pieces on stage in relation to each other.
This is one I think I will read again with an even more focused eye towards craft—I haven’t read a play in a while that displays power imbalances so clearly and so well, and I feel like this play may still have something to teach me about that.
Here is my official recommendation from NPX:
I am struck by how strong the themes are in this piece--power and community rippled through every scene. As someone who was raised Catholic (and no longer is one) this play also connected deeply to me emotionally. I very much WAS Raven as an older teenager, and watching her journey through the play was incredibly engaging. As a playwright, I will be returning to this piece to continue learning about how one can use power imbalances effectively. Beautiful play!
Have you read this play? Tell me what you think by replying to this email or messaging me on the SubStack app!
There are a few other plays that joined my reading list this week:
Virgin Creek: A Modern Miracle Play by Samantha Vargas
SELLSOUL by Johnny Bolduc
The Fall of Anne Boleyn: Presented as a Modern Day FaceTime Call by Samantha Oty
Want me to read one of these plays? Want me to read YOURS? Reply to this email and let me know!
Happy reading!
~Brynn