The Merthyr Stigmatist (NHB Modern Plays)

‘I have caused what might soon be a global situation because you’ve stopped thinking people like me are worth hearing.’

Is something incredible happening in Merthyr? Sixteen-year-old Carys claims to have received the stigmata: Christ’s wounds from the Cross. Are her wounds a sign from God?

Carys thinks so - she wants to tell the world and demands to be heard. Sian, her teacher, is not so sure, and believes silencing Carys will keep her safe. But can she make sense of what is happening to her student?

Lisa Parry’s play The Merthyr Stigmatist is a fierce and exhilarating exploration of faith and truth, a hymn to community, and a testament to the power of young people. The play was shortlisted for the inaugural Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award, and first presented online in 2021, as a co-production between Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, and Theatre Uncut.

‘Lisa Parry’s taut and stirring two-hander about faith and community in Merthyr Tydfil… deeply moving… feels like its own little miracle’
- Guardian

‘Stylish, tense and taut… a searing two-hander’ - The Stage'A piercing authenticity… a clear-eyed and compelling dissection of where religion meets politics… profoundly moving’
- Exeunt Magazine

‘An urgent and contemporary voice’
- Theatre Weekly