Road to Judecca at Riverside Studios

‘A Chilling, Cerebral Clash of Faith and Fanaticism’ ★★★

Nicholas Alder’s Road to Judecca, performed at Riverside Studios, is a daring theatrical experiment. The play interrogates the intersection of faith and performance, weaving Lutheran theology—specifically the four modalities of prayer (command, promise, words, faith)—into the fabric of an actor’s process. The result is a haunting, cerebral work that probes how belief can both elevate and ensnare, while questioning the ethics of charismatic authority and the human longing to belong. 

Alder—serving as playwright, director, and sole performer—delivers a tour de force in dual roles. As Toby, a fragile, desperate acolyte, he channels the existential despair of Samuel Beckett’s protagonists: hunched, twitchy, and vibrating with a nervous energy that borders on the transcendent. “I want to feel wanted by God, I want to feel wanted by you”. In stark contrast, his portrayal of Michael, the cult-like leader who manipulates Toby’s faith, is a masterclass in chilling charisma. Alder imbues Michael with a serpentine charm, quoting scripture to justify the cold-blooded murder of a beggar while seducing both Toby and the audience with magnetic, almost erotic authority. The echo of “Words without thoughts will never to heaven go” underscores Michael’s performative piety—a prayer stripped of meaning, weaponized for control. 

The minimalist set, bathed in chiaroscuro lighting, evokes a purgatorial void between ritual and reality, while his physicality—whether crawling in supplication or towering in dominance—transforms movement into prayer. The recursive structure mirrors the cyclical nature of dogma, asking: When does faith become coercion? When does belonging become bondage?

Yet Road to Judecca is not without flaws. The pacing, deliberately slow to mirror liturgical ritual, often drags, testing the audience. Toby’s unwavering devotion, while thematically resonant, strains believability; his static emotional arc renders him more symbolic martyr than evolving human, muting the narrative’s dramatic urgency.

Still, Alder’s electrifying presence compensates. His transitions between roles are seamless and haunting, culminating in scenes of visceral horror that expose the rot beneath Michael’s holy veneer. The tension between “illuminating and blinding” faith thrums with dread. 

A bold but uneven exploration of faith’s dark alchemy. Alder’s performances—particularly his monstrous, mesmerizing Michael—elevate the material, and the script’s intellectual rigor is admirable. Yet sluggish pacing and Toby’s stagnant arc blunt its emotional impact. Worth seeing for Alder’s daring and the lingering question: When does faith become a cage? For all its flaws, Road to Judecca leaves you haunted by its ghosts.

Road to Judecca 

Written, Directed & Performed by Nicholas Alder 

In association with Voler Theatre Collective 

Riverside Studios 

23rd March, London, UK 

https://riversidestudios.co.uk/see-and-do/road-to-judecca-166473/

Théátre Pixel

29th March, Paris, France 

https://www.billetweb.fr/road-to-judecca

Ylioppilasteatteri 

5th April, Helsinki, Finland 

https://www.ylioppilasteatteri.fi/road-to-judecca