CHARLES WESLEY: O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing

Charles Wesley wrote hymns for the newly formed Methodist church, the one that he and his brother never actually planned to found. Wesley’s character narrates this performance, explaining how the Methodist denomination came to be, while the United Voices of Edmonton sings hymns throughout. Ian Horobin gives a strong performance as Wesley—his best moments are when he becomes other characters, giving them a distinctive voice, and he acts out their conversations with Wesley. Unfortunately, Wesley describes the conversations that occurred between him and his brother, which loses the immediacy of the acted-out discussions. As I’m not a Methodist, or a Protestant more generally, I found that some jokes were over my head. Knowing some of the main philosophical tenets of the faith, which Wesley does explain at the end, might have helped put the play into context, too. The program could perhaps contain a little note offering the necessary background information. The music worked very well with Wesley’s narration, and the United Voices does a fabulous job, but the large wall of the set obscured my view of a couple of the choir members. Still, for people who are interested in Methodism’s history, this would be a great show to catch.