Just before Easter a crowd gathered in Hunsdon Village Hall for a unique evening. I don’t know whether I would call it entertainment as that trivialises what was in some ways an epic and almost sacred event. Stefan Smart brought us his one man show ‘I am Mark.’ He stood in the midst of the audience (he did not stand on the stage) and addressed us word for word from the gospel of Mark, from the Bible. It’s one of the four accounts in the Bible of the life of Jesus (along with Matthew, Luke and John). Stefan was passionate and managed to evoke so much with so little – just him in a white shirt under the bright lights and his only prop, a chair. He part narrated and part acted the words of the gospel. People are more used to hearing words from the Bible read in short sections with serious voice from the front of church so to hear the whole of Mark’s story in one sitting was amazing.
The book was written for a culture more used to an oral tradition and so it was a very authentic way to receive his words. The gospel tells of the life and death of Jesus and includes parables, miracles and betrayal, an execution and a resurrection. The words are compelling, shocking, troubling, amazing and of course thought provoking and he achieved all this on his own with just his trusty chair. In the Q & A afterwards he shared how the idea for the performance came about. He had been an English and Drama teacher and one day he told a short story to some students who sat enthralled while the bell went off and all the other classes went to break. They remained glued to the story despite the commotion around them. He eventually combined his love for storytelling with his faith and this show is the result. He took ‘I am Mark’ to the Edinburgh fringe a few years ago and has now been to Hunsdon! It was a privilege to witness one man’s passion for both his craft and the content of his show.
