Leon Arden

My play, Friends in High Places, has a cast of two, God and the Devil.  In the first act, God scolds mankind for centuries of savagery and threatens to cancel the universe if we fail to change our ways.  In Act two, Lucifer, a feisty young woman, (the devil has the power to assume a pleasing shape) counters God’s argument by blaming Him for the sad state the world is in and calls His long neglect of mankind nothing less than child abuse. 

 

In this comedy drama, the Lord says, “When you speak to me, it’s prayer.  When I speak to you, it’s paranoia schizophrenia. Is it any wonder I keep silent?”  The devil, who calls herself Satina, encourages her “sisters” to achieve their freedom without diminishing their femininity: “A woman’s reach should exceed her grasp or what’s mascara for?”

 

At the end of the play when the two performers take their bows, God and the Devil can’t help quarrelling over what each has said about the other.  This comic debate forms the coda of the piece until they come to an agreement as to the fate of mankind. 

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The actor Patrick Stewart, who optioned my novel, A Walk to the Paradise Garden, for a film, said about Friends in High Places:

 

“I found it delightful.  Playful, profound and provocative.”

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