A saintly hermit is told by the devil (disguised as an angel) that if he wants to get into heaven he must match a notorious gangster in evil. He is so paranoid about his salvation that he believes him. Audiences are not going to like the outcome. The bad guy repents at the very last minute and goes to heaven. The good guy goes to hell, damned because of his lack of faith.
Tirso de Molina (1571-1648) is one of the great playwrights of the Spanish Golden Age. When Damned by Despair was revived at the tiny Gate Theatre in 1991 by Stephen Daldry it worked extremely well. Revived now by Bijan Sheibani it doesn’t work at all. The drama can only be appreciated within the God-fearing context of its times (1625). Here the hermit is suddenly transported from the 17th century to a modern secular world. It doesn’t make any sense and ruins the play and the theological debate about God’s mercy, faith and redemption. The transformation from saint to killer is so abrupt that it allows for no journey of his soul at all. Added to which Sebastian Armesto’s performance isn’t helped by Bertie Carvel, who is miscast as the gangster and takes centre stage far too often.