Heaven Bent, Hell Bound

Written: 1987

Actors Touring Co.

This is a very free adaptation of El condenado por desconfiado by Tirso de Molina. I developed it mostly on tour with the actors, who were to play it in repertoire with HAMLET.

Its the story of a monk who begins to lose faith bin his vocation. He begs God to tell him if he is going to be saved.

The Devil disguises herself as an angel, appears to the monk, and tells him he will share the fate of the next person he meets.

This turns out to be a criminal, Lidora, the wickedest woman in the world.

The monk despairs, becomes a criminal and goes to hell... while the criminal repents, becomes a saint, and goes to heaven...

It’s a wild, baroque kind of tale that I really love.

And at the end of the day the real sin it denounces is despair.