Award-winning actor, writer and director, Jonathan Moore, has written a remarkable play about the founder of the Society of Jesus, St Ignatius of Loyola, which was read by a professional cast of actors at the London Jesuit Centre as part of the celebrations for The Ignatian Year.

You can watch this brilliant readthrough here.

It is 500 years ago since Inigo (as he was then known) was struck by a cannonball at the Battle of Pamplona. While recovering from his horrific injuries, he underwent a spiritual conversion and discerned a call to the religious life. He later founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) with the Pope’s blessing. It is the anniversary of Inigo’s conversion which marks the beginning of The Ignatian Year, which is being celebrated by Jesuits, mission partners, and supporters across the globe.

After the play’s triumphant initial run Off West End and a subsequent transfer to a bigger theatre to rapturous, inspired audiences in London of all faiths and none, the text of the play has recently been published with a foreword by renowned journalist and critic, Mark Lawson, who writes:

“In Moore’s bold, visceral, funny and poetic play, he asserts Loyola’s position as counter-cultural radical. But it is not only for those interested in Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuits. It is also a political allegory about those who fight for change against an implacable Establishment. With the current Pope a Jesuit, this is a timely exploration of one of history’s major spiritual leaders and reformers: a story of a spiritual journey from sinner to saint.”

The play in book form can be purchased here.

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"Although Jonathan Moore is also a startling director and actor, it is a thrill to see him back as a dramatist and with a play as powerfully written, psychologically astute and spiritually nuanced as Inigo.”

Mark Lawson, journalist, broadcaster and author

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"A power of feeling rare in contemporary writing."

The Guardian

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"A resounding, unanimous triumph... riveting, total theatre."

Sunday Times

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"Moore is a highly accomplished dramatic craftsman"

London Evening Standard Book review, "The Stage"

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“Impressive…entertaining. Enlightening.”

**** LondonTheatre

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“Historically accurate, comic and thought-provoking while still incredibly relevant.”

**** Plays To See

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“… lovely moments of religious poetry and pragmatic comedy… given the current activity in Rome, this is a particularly pertinent time for this story of humility.”

**** The Stage

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