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The Confessions of Saint Augustine
Are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe

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Hello Stephen, can you tell us where are you from & where are you living today?
Hi there. I was born in Glasgow, the youngest of five boys and stayed there in the Southside all my life. My wife is from Dundee and we have settled in the Greater Glasgow area with our two children.

What are your first theatrical memories?
I wanted to be an actor from a very young age. My dad can remember me crying in our kitchen because I wanted to get into acting! I got involved in local drama classes at the Langside Halls and cut my acting teeth at the age of nine in the role of Abanazer (the baddie!) in a panto of Aladdin. After that, my parents got me speech and drama tuition in the way that some people learn the piano. I was introduced to the likes of Chekhov and Wilde from about the age of 12. This led to me getting a part in the STV soap Highroad during my teenage years.

You’ve been a serious theatre practitioner for the past two decades now, what have been you major contributions to the dramatical arts?
A pivotal moment for me was when I directed the Scottish Premieres of two plays by the Polish playwright, Karol Wojtyla, who is much better known as Pope John Paul II! This experience led to a strong desire to specialise in faith-related subjects but in a way that was accessible to people of all faiths and none just as these productions were. As a playwright and theatre-maker, that is my main area of expertise and it has been my privilege to have brought to life many stories that have inspired others. Sadly, I think that sometimes there is still a prejudice against Catholicism in the arts and I hope that my small contribution makes a difference to eradicating this.

You have been comission’d by the bosses themselves, i.e. the Vatican, can you tell us about the project?
2020 was the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Stella Maris, the Catholic Church’s outreach to seafarers. This work was founded in Glasgow and became an international movement with Vatican support. To mark the occasion, the Dicastery for Integral Human Development (who work for human rights, including those of migrants, and fight against injustices such as people trafficking) wanted to commission a play to be performed at an international conference in Glasgow. Sadly, the Covid Pandemic put paid to the production taking place as planned but the conference went ahead in 2022, with a rehearsed reading of my play. It was a huge honour and I received a Papal Blessing.

Can you tell us more about the Archdiocese of Glasgow Arts Project?
AGAP was borne out of a desire to establish an obvious channel for the cultural life of the Catholic Church. It is an outlet for those who want to express their faith creatively through the arts or to engage with the Church artistically. I wanted to ensure that the Church was pro-active in the arts (as it had been historically) and not just reactive. With the support of the late Archbishop Mario Conti, I was able to establish AGAP in 2006 and, since then, our flagship festival, Lentfest, has attracted international support, incorporating contributions from professional artistes to school children and amateur groups across a wide range of artistic disciplines. AGAP has also been the main outlet for my own work as a theatre practitioner, engaging with actors and audiences through performances in community venues across Greater Glasgow and beyond.

This is not your first time at the Fringe, is it?
This is my sixth appearance at the Fringe. My first was The Margaret Sinclair Story, a commission from the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh. It was a historical solo play on the life of Edinburgh’s famous working-class saint-in-the-making, played by actress, Maryfrances Jennow. Performances took place beside the tomb of Venerable Margaret Sinclair in St Patrick’s Church in the Cowgate. It earned a very positive 3-star review in The Scotsman and went on to further touring and development as a film for schools with my wife taking over the role. I have brought several other productions to the Fringe since then, including my own solo show, The Pew with a View, which I performed in 2018 when my son was only five weeks old! I remember my wife standing backstage with him in a sling whilst I performed the monologue with only my face visible through the back of a church pew. My most recent appearance, however, was in 2019 with Sign of Contradiction: The Passion Story, my interpretation of the Passion of Jesus Christ and the political machinations that brought about his death. It was very well received and had a very strong review in the Church of England newspaper.

You’re bringing a new play to this year’s Fringe – can you tell us all about it?
This year, I’m performing a new solo show. Oggie! Oggie! Oggie! is a modern, energetic twist on The Confessions of Saint Augustine (“Oggie” for short!), charting his rollercoaster journey from hedonistic wild boy to one of the most famous inspirational figures in Christian history.

Wow – where & when did you get the first flash of inspiration to turn St Augustine’s Confessions into theatre?
When I was at the Fringe with The Margaret Sinclair Story in 2016, someone approached me, asking if I could write a play about someone who wasn’t always a saint. In other words, someone who had undergone a dramatic conversion. She was worried about her son and said that we need to hear stories that show that there is a way back to God no matter how far we have wandered away from him. The simple answer is “take your pick!” Most of the Saints celebrated by the Catholic Church are people whose lives are far from perfect but who have persevered and found meaning and forgiveness in God. However, Augustine’s story is one that has captivated people for centuries and the work is both a spiritual and literary classic. The Confessions was the first “biography” as such and the origin of “soliloquy” (an interior dialogue) comes from it – it’s so dramatic that it was begging to be adapted for the stage!

How much relevance do the Confessions have for a modern audience, & have you tailored the material to maybe assist that somehow?
Someone who saw the show in Glasgow said that it reminded them of Trainspotting but with God at the centre of it! I’ve tried to maintain the integrity of the original text but I’ve set the play in a modern context. The character is hugely relevant for today. He is someone that really wrestled with God and he found him by looking inward. I think his story resonates with society today, in a world that wrestles with belief (and unbelief) in God. The pandemic and its aftermath brought so many of us to crisis point and I think the character indirectly speaks to the mental health crisis. Augustine’s journey shows a flesh-and-blood human being pushed to the limit. I admire his honesty and have tried to capture it in my script and performance. Having gone through so much and dabbled in so many things through his lifestyle, he came to the conclusion that “Our hearts are restless until the rest in God.” I agree.

You’ve got 20 seconds to sell your show to strangers on the streets of Edinburgh, what do you say?
The Fringe offers a plethora of colourful controversy in all artistic shapes and forms, trying to grab your attention and shock you into amazement but is anything more shocking and controversial today than a piece of theatre that suggests that there is a God who loves you personally no matter where your life has been? I don’t think so. Come and see Oggie! Oggie! Oggie! (….and yes, you can shout Oi! Oi! Oi!)

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Oggie! Oggie! Oggie!

C Venues Aurora Studio
23rd-27th August (18:20)

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