Set in a Christian youth camp in the Oregon mountains in the summer of 2019, this isn’t a play that’s likely to convert anyone to faith and spirituality. Quite the opposite, probably, given the scepticism on the part of Josh (Luke Stiles), some of which arises thanks to youth pastor Paul (Diego Zozaya) and his invitations – plural – to ask questions and be open-minded. I suspect this is the short of show that will appeal most to anyone who was raised in a religious household (regardless of the actual religion) but even for those who weren’t, there’s much mischievousness to enjoy in watching the interactions between the supposedly spiritual guru who, at least to given with, takes a ‘softly, softly’ approach to the somewhat disinterested teenager who is only at a church camp because his parents said he had to go.
It’s not quite at the level of a recent case where a teenager was sued by his own father for the cost of a gay conversion therapy course that the said teenager didn’t complete. But that story, as well as the one in Miraculous, amply demonstrates quite how central, in a social sense, the Church is in many communities in the United States, regardless of what anyone in those churches actually believes. Belief in a higher power in the first place, Paul is happy to clarify, is “not necessarily” grounds to ask Josh not to be in the church community. It is left to the audience to work out the ‘real’ reason why – namely, that the church’s congregation would plummet if it suddenly insisted on a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ as a condition of entry.
Of course, some churches do insist on that, but as Josh points out, the prayers he prays are not all that meaningful. They are, for example, words to say before a meal. Whether the Almighty actually blesses, whatever that even means, a meal before it is consumed is neither here nor there. The questions keep coming, and the answers keep coming too, and while it does get a little too philosophical on occasion, the dialogue flows quite naturally. After the show’s critical incident, which happens off-stage, the ‘real’ characters come out. Josh, who began with a nonchalant at best approach to religion, displays vulnerability and would like forgiveness for something he didn’t do. The pastor is utterly unobliging, not because there is nothing to forgive the teenager for, but underneath all the talk about peace, love and forgiveness, there’s a lot of unresolved tension, anger and bitterness that bursts forth like a burst water main. There’s a reason why a fight director is listed in the show’s credits. Okay, in some ways it’s a bit predictable, but the dramatic tension that results makes the long build-up to it worth the wait.
The contradictions inherent in organised religion, in themselves, cover well-trodden ground, though the details in both Josh and Paul’s lives make the narrative a personal and engaging one. A thoughtful and absorbing experience – and definitely more intriguing than the usual Sunday morning fare at the local parish church.
Review by Chris Omaweng
Josh – Luke Stiles
Paul – Diego Zozaya
Playwright – Luke Stiles
Director – Toby Clarke
Producer – Brock Looser
Co-Producer – Avery Looser
Executive Producers – Nancy and Adam Stiles
Stage Manager – Maia Thompson
Composer / Sound Designer – Pierre Flasse
Associate Sound Designer – Myra Bente
Lighting Designer – Amy Fisher
Set Designer – Meg Cunningham
Fight Director – Jon Aaron
Vocalist – Antony Lam
Poster Photography – VRC Studios
“Imagine like having the power to create the entire world with a handful of sentences, or remotely impregnate a fourteen-year-old virgin, or parting a sea, or any of those like massive, real things, and then like, retiring.”
When a youth pastor preoccupied with mercy and a teenager hungry for justice are thrust into the same room, will their fellowship end in communion or collision?
MIRACULOUS
King’s Head Theatre
16 to 20 June 2026
