Screwtape takes to the stage in the US

An American theatre company is bringing C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters to stages across the United States.

Fellowship for Performing Arts (FPA), based in New York City, is a not-for-profit production company creating theatre and film from a Christian worldview. Its founder, Max McLean – famous for depicting Lewis in biopic The Reluctant Convert (2021) – spoke of his personal connection with the book: “I was an adult convert to Christianity and, after reading the New Testament, someone gave me a couple of Lewis’s books. The one that really hit me was The Screwtape Letters.

“I had two immediate thoughts at conversion, [firstly] that I was loved by the Creator of the universe, and [secondly] that I had been deceived. So, when I read The Screwtape Letters immediately following that, I knew who was deceiving me.

“Lewis is the most influential Christian writer of the past 100 years. The Screwtape Letters play is a faithful adaptation of his classic novel (of the same name) from 1942. It speaks of spiritual warfare from the devil’s point of view. Lewis is instructing us on the seriousness of spiritual warfare. We must not be ignorant of the devil’s devices. The play reinforces this.

“It’s very entertaining, because Lewis is entertaining and provocative. For a lot of people the play is very convicting, and for some people it’s life changing.”

Reviewing the play for Christianity Today, Kate Lucky described it as “uncomfortable to watch”. “The two-actor play uses C.S. Lewis’s classic work to warn people – especially Christians – about the dangers of lukewarm faith,” she wrote.

The stage adaptation follows Screwtape, a senior tempter in hell, as he schemes to capture the soul of an unsuspecting human on earth. The production’s dialogue is recited by Screwtape, who dictates to his subordinate, Toadpipe. All the play’s lines come from Lewis’s original text, drawn from 24 of the 31 letters. The addressee of Screwtape’s writings – his nephew Wormwood, a junior demon who readers will know from the novel – is never shown; nor is the human recipient of Wormwood’s torment.

As the play tours, with dates scheduled up until April 2026, FPA hopes to spark renewed reflection on spiritual warfare, and the enduring relevance of Lewis’s message.