Conflict between love and belief
Abreaction and Sweet Management present

MESLIER
Love, Lies, Death and Dogma


London invitation preview: Jermyn Street Theatre, Weds. July 19th at 1.00pm
Call MBA PR 020 7223 9091 / 07930 334 113
Edinburgh venue: Sweet at the Edinburgh College of Art (venue 186)
14th to 27th August. 8.30 pm nightly: Box office 0870 241 0136


Meslier Death MaskConflict between love and belief is at the heart of this real-life historical drama by David Hall, whose last play 'Cross Road Blues' was a 5-star (Scotsman) sell-out hit at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe. Meslier's director, David Roylance (Racing Demon, The Curse of Iain Banks) and members of the cast, have also had previous professional successes at Edinburgh. Prentis Hancock is well known for his film and television work (Dr Who, Space 1999)

The play came about when two contemporary psychiatrists, Colin Brewer and Julian Bird, became fascinated by the little-known history of Jean Meslier, a Catholic priest in late 17th century France who was a closet atheist. This secret put Meslier in constant fear for his life at a time when, as today, the emerging values of The Enlightenment and scientific discovery were threatened by savage religious fundamentalism. Posthumously, Meslier left a fearlessly atheist/socialist testament, admired by Voltaire, which helped sow the seeds of the French Revolution.

Meslier is a moral and ascetic man, who dutifully cares for his often starving parishioners and also raises and educates an orphan peasant girl, Delphine Solange. By contrast, his one close friend, Claude Buffier, is a worldly, extrovert, ambitious churchman. The relationships between the three characters and the impact of the secrets they keep from each other makes 'Meslier' a riveting human drama as well as a fascinating insight into historic events that have disturbing parallels with our own time.

Jean Meslier………….Julian Bird
Claude Buffier……Prentis Hancock
Delphine Solange ……Angela Koo

Press contact:
Rebecca Sparkes MBA PR 020 7223 9091 / 07930 334 113
rebecca.sparkes@mbapr.co.uk