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Jun 05, 2026
Analyzed by Llama- 4 Scout 17B 16E Instruct

Mark E Smith's Maligned Catholic Play 'Hey! Luciani' Gets a Reboot

AI Summary
Mark E Smith's 1986 play 'Hey! Luciani: The Life and Codex of John Paul I' is being rebooted at Manchester's Band on the Wall venue. The play, which was initially panned by critics, is being restaged by comedy screenwriter Graham Duff as part of a 50th anniversary Fall celebration festival.

The Revival of a Maligned Masterpiece

When Steve Hanley joined Manchester post-punk group the Fall, he expected to be playing bass guitar, not the pope on the London stage. But as a cast member of Mark E Smith's 1986 play 'Hey! Luciani: The Life and Codex of John Paul I', Hanley donned a full pope suit with seven layers of cassocks and took center stage.

The Turbulent History of 'Hey! Luciani'

In December 1986, 'Hey! Luciani' ran for two weeks at Hammersmith's Riverside Studios. Smith, the Fall's iconoclastic vocalist and lyricist who died in 2018, described it as 'a cross between Shakespeare and The Prisoner'. However, critics were less than impressed, with the Guardian deriding it as a 'thoroughness of Smith's failure'.

The Data Behind the Reboot

  • The original play was written on beer mats and delivered to Riverside in a shoe box.
  • The play's thesis was allegedly based on David Yallop's 1984 bestseller 'In God's Name', which alleged Pope John Paul I's assassination.
  • The 1986 production featured non-professional actors, including performance artist Leigh Bowery.

The Impact of 'Hey! Luciani' on the Art World

'Hey! Luciani' is a classic example of postmodern storytelling, with convoluted narratives and the erasure of differences between high and low art. Graham Duff, the director of the reboot, believes that the play's cryptic nature is intentional, highlighting the Vatican's bureaucracy and the power struggles within.

The Future of 'Hey! Luciani'

If the June performance is successful, Duff hopes that his version might get picked up by one of Manchester's bigger arts institutions. For Hanley, the bassist who played the pope in the original production, the evening's success will be measured by his ability to avoid getting arrested.