★★★☆☆
Presented at The Lowry, Night Falls – a new Passion play by Paul Birch – offers an intimate, 75-minute performance without an interval. The play revisits one of the most famous miracles in history – the raising of Lazarus. But Paul chooses to tell it from the side we rarely consider. We are used to seeing resurrection as triumph; here, it is presented as drama.
Jesus performs a miracle. Lazarus rises. The crowd marvels. Yet Lazarus himself is left to carry the burden of what it means to return. If resurrection is glorious, why does it feel like a curse? The narrative tension is embodied in the relationship between the two characters, Lazarus (Matthew Rutherford) and Dvora (Esther Atkins). Both have experienced resurrection, both know what it means to have crossed the threshold of death and returned. They share the same unsettling memory of what lies beyond, or, perhaps, of the absence of anything at all. Yet their views on Jesus diverge sharply. For Dvora, he remains a miracle, a divine force worthy of reverence and faith. For Lazarus, he is first and foremost a friend, whose presence mainly brings danger and troubles. It is within this contrast that the drama unfolds. The shared experience of death unites them, but their interpretation of the one who brought them back divides them deeply.
There are lighter moments in this production, such as timeless jokes about turning water into wine, but beneath the humour lingers a deeper question: Is a life lived in constant fear of death truly a life at all?
What makes Night Falls compelling is that it reframes what we traditionally celebrate as miracle into something profoundly human. We usually see resurrection as triumph; here, it becomes a personal tragedy from the perspective of Jesus’s closest friends. Faith shifts. Dvora, the one who once believed, begins to lose certainty after the crucifixion, while Lazarus, on the contrary, slowly finds belief in its place.
The performances are impeccable. With the support of voice coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm and movement director Christie, they are controlled, sincere, and emotionally grounded.
And yet, despite its thoughtful reinterpretation, the production feels slightly restrained. It is a new telling of an old story, carefully constructed, raising universal, lifelong questions about death, faith, and guilt. It remains thoughtful, though not emotionally overwhelming.
Night Falls tours the UK until April 6.
JADAR 