The Unbelieving NYC Reviews and Tickets

81%

(39 Ratings)

Positive

95%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Absorbing, Intelligent, Thought-provoking, Great acting, Ambitious

About the Show

A docu-theater piece about preachers who question their own faiths.

In most stories of religious conversion, finding God fills someone's life with purpose and meaning. But what happens when the opposite happens, and the faith you have defined your life by begins to fall away?

The Unbelieving takes a hard look into the lives of practicing clergy members— Catholics, Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Jews, Mormons, Muslims—who no longer believe in God.

Based on the book Caught In The Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola, and presented by celebrated downtown theater company, The Civiians, this play uses these clergy members own words as they face one of the toughest decisions of their lives.

Show-Score Member Reviews (39)

A conversation starter, Timely and necessary, Insightfully probing, Brave

See it if You are curious to understand how religious leaders deal with the increasingly insidious conflict between science & faith. It’s complicated.

Don't see it if You find plays that deal with religious leaders confronting their loss of faith uncomfortable + scary, & science as dangerous + disruptive. Read more

Intelligent, Edgy, Great acting

See it if you are interested in original approaches to theater or theology.

Don't see it if If you're in the mood for a musical comedy. Read more

Timely, Serious, Fine acting anddirecting, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if A group of theologians who are struggling with their loss of faith and what it means is a topic that interests you. I was fascinated !

Don't see it if The idea of tearing faith apart and examining it logically in a documentary style play will disturb you. Be open-minded, see it anyway !

Profound, Intelligent, Clever, Ambitious, Absorbing

See it if You like documentaries and are open to questioning faith and religion.

Don't see it if You are looking for an elaborately staged musical.

Great acting, Enchanting, Great staging, Thought-provoking, Absorbing

See it if You want to see an absorbing little documentary piece with bare bones but clever staging and a solid presentation and wonderful actors.

Don't see it if You're not interested in great off Broadway theater.

Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Relevant, Profound, Intelligent

See it if you are interested in how identity forms us and then traps us. Clergy who once were Believers now facing losing belief and therefore status

Don't see it if u don't like docu-theater (individuals really confessed their non-belief) and faced the destruction of their personal lives and careers. Read more

Great staging, Great acting, Absorbing

See it if You like factual docudramas about atheism . Short plays with good acting,

Don't see it if You need heavy plot, lots of scenery and costumes

Resonant, Profound, Intelligent, Absorbing, Clever

See it if you want a thoughtful reflection on what in means to live an authentic life when doing so could cost you everything you've known.

Don't see it if you want more of a traditional plot. Read more

Critic Reviews (5)

"This smart and slender play listens to its characters without judgment. Not trying to hit its audience over the head with lessons, it is conducive to empathy."
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"It's fascinating stuff, but at 65 minutes, we feel like we've watched only the first episode."
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"People of all backgrounds will have interesting takeaways from after they experience 'The Unbelieving.' It is a show that will invite thoughtful conversations."
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"The cast is uniformly strong, but even as a documentary play, 'The Unbelieving' could use more of a dramatic structure than what we see here."
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"The whole cast is superb... Each makes us feel for the closeted equivocators – no easy feat in front of a sophisticated New York audience likely to have leaped the fence some time ago."
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Trailer

Creative team