The Studio at Holden Street Theatres, Sun 19 Feb, 2023.

The audience is greeted by Daniel, the play’s sole player, in briefs and something of a light robe and thus begins the story. He has returned to his mother’s house, as it transpires, several years after having been kicked out at 16, when the child payments stopped. Daniel would likely have been an odd child and man even without being the victim of neglect, bullying and privation. He leads us through his story in an animated manner, engaging and addressing us as the play winds inexorably to its conclusion.

Along the way it’s clear that various syndromes and self-protection devices are all at work in Daniel’s mind to try to help him make sense and cope with the world he has found himself in. This includes obsessions with Jesus, salvation and particularly the rapture – when all will be made well. But then, on a community bus outing, his first time ever to a theatre, he sees Jane McDonald’s performance. Here is a new epiphany and the start of a new obsession, an insight into Heaven on Earth which, at least for a while his mother shares. The writing at this point moves from prose to rhyming (and near-rhyming) couplets – a lovely literary device for the moment.

Frankly I’m at a loss as to how Jack Stokes can deliver the part of Daniel in such a convincing manner. No doubt Philip Stokes’ script helps significantly. It is very well crafted to engage and enthral the audience. From Daniel, there is quiet contemplation, obsession, paranoia, animated exposition, great use of facial expression and body language, as well as agitated use of the stage. Often the audience can only react in incredulity as we see Daniel leading us through various parts of his life and how he got to this point. While we might not share his view of things, we can appreciate the how and why he thinks the way he does – even while it remains alien to us in many ways.

Jesus, Jane, Mother & Me is well worth seeing, especially if you’re keen on insight into just how circumstances and upbringing can be powerful determinants in a person’s outcomes or just in exploring this complex world of the human condition.