C.S. Lewis On Stage comes to UNC's campus with a rational approach toward spirituality

Award-winning actor Max McLean will play the author and Christian convert C.S. Lewis in the one-man show, also written and co-directed by McLean. "C.S. Lewis On Stage: The Most Reluctant Convert" will come to Memorial Hall on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

C.S. Lewis On Stage details Lewis’ life story and conversion from Atheism to Christianity. McLean said, “He didn’t want to convert. He just wasn’t interested in it. And all of a sudden, (Christianity) took him over.”

McLean said Lewis’ story is extremely worth telling because Lewis examines spirituality from a very rational perspective that seems to be unusual, and yet it’s something that people resonate with.

“Beyond that, it goes back to how plausible it is to have a faith in the supernatural world," McLean said.

C.S. Lewis On Stage has traveled across the nation to multiple theaters and college campuses, including the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.

McLean said the experience of the play happens mostly during Lewis' college years.

“We want to be on university campuses, to see how a peer, a very smart peer, went through the process of trying to figure out 'Is this world all there is or is there something more?' I think is very relevant (to college students),” McLean said.

McLean said he hopes the show will entertain students while demonstrating Lewis' unique approach toward dealing with spiritual conflict.

McLean said his intentions for the performance are best expressed through a quote from Harold Clurman, the late American theatrical director, “Make them laugh... and while their mouths are open, pour truth in.”

McLean said he initially decided to write about Lewis’ story because he had a conflict and the reluctance of conversion to it makes it inherently theatrical.

“When I started doing research on Lewis I found out that he’s constantly referring to his conversion,” McLean said.

McLean said he has been involved in several theatrical productions of C.S. Lewis works over the past 15 years.

McLean said "The Pilgrim’s Regress," "Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold," "Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life," "The Great Divorce" and "The Screwtape Letters" are books in which Lewis mentions his conversion.

“He’s constantly going back as this being the pivotal event in his life,” said McLean. 

C.S. Lewis On Stage is hosted by four campus organizations, including the North Carolina Study Center, UNC Fellowship of Christian Athletes, College Collective and Acts2Fellowship UNC.

Mark Hampton, a college minister at College Collective, said he hopes students who attend the performance will gain a larger perspective of C.S. Lewis’ thought.

"A lot of people are familiar with C.S. Lewis, but they've maybe read one or two books, or they've only read 'The Chronicles of Narnia' or something like that, but C.S. Lewis was a much bigger influencer than that," Hampton said. 

Matt Hoehn, director of Christian thought for the North Carolina Study Center, said he hopes attendees will gain a greater appreciation for Lewis as a figure and thinker. 

“This play charts his journey in his autobiography, 'Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life,' which is a great work that we’ve read with students before in small groups here,” Hoehn said.

The performance is only open to UNC students. 

“We're hoping to make his life and his thought more widely available to students,” Hoehn said.

@emmatcraig

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