"Fire from Heaven" play to be held on March 30

“Fire from Heaven: Michael Faraday and the Dawn of the Electrical Age,” a theatrical performance created by playwright and director Murray Watts, will be held at Dordt University on Thursday, March 30, at 7 p.m. in the Dordt Black Box Theatre. The play is presented by Scholarship and Christianity in Oxford (SCIO).

For ticketing information, please visit https://dordt.ticketleap.com/fire-from-heaven-dordt/.

“Fire from Heaven” explores the interconnections between faith and science in the life of scientist Michael Faraday – and through his story, invites the audience to explore the same.

“The show is a special opportunity as a campus to benefit from the presence of a guest professional actor, director, and playwright,” says Angela Kroeze Visser, director of the Kielstra Center for Research and Grants. “Through this production we have the opportunity not only to host a professional show but also to engage together with our guests from SCIO in a conversation about the show themes.”

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion describes “Fire from Heaven” as an “excellent and thought-provoking one-man play [that] looks at the life and work of a scientist who, despite all his efforts to avoid fame and fortune, is well known even outside scientific circles.”

“Fire from Heaven” playwright and director, Murray Watts, is one of the best-known Christian playwrights and screenwriters in the UK. Watts is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Miracle Maker, and the screenwriter for the film of the same name, featuring Ralph Fiennes and Julie Christie. An animated film on the life of Jesus, The Miracle Maker was the top-rated television film for ABC Network in 2000 and has been viewed by millions around the world. Watts is also the author of the bestselling The Bible for Children, which has been translated into more than 20 languages, and the screenwriter for KJB: the Book that Changed the World, directed by Norman Stone (Shadowlands) and featuring John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings). Watts also wrote and directed the one-man play “The Dream,” based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, which went on to spawn the film of the same name starring Jeremy Irons and the television mini-series Tales from the Madhouse. He has often worked with the actor Andrew Harrison to create solo performances.

Andrew Harrison is the actor in “Fire from Heaven.” He has worked in film, television, theatre, and radio for over 30 years. His theatre credits include “Glyn and It” with Dame Penelope Keith on national tour, the premiere tour of Peter Nichol’s “Blue Murder,” and the London West End production with the late Sir Michael Hordern of “Trelawny of the Wells.” He made his repertory debut in Exeter playing the leads in Caryl Churchill’s “Serious Money” and Alan Ayckbourn’s “A Chorus of Disapproval.” Andrew is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s drama department. His film credits include An Ideal Husband, The Sea Change, A Little Loving, and Dorian Gray; for television he has appeared in Florence Nightingale, The Life of Pepys, Miss Marple, 2000 Acres of Sky, The Bill, Birds of a Feather, Beyond Narnia, Summer in Transylvania, and more.

Dordt is one of eight stops on the play’s tour through the United States. Dordt is a grantee of the SCIO Supporting Structures, a program designed to help foster STEM research and research cultures at universities in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

“Fire from Heaven” is funded by the John Templeton Foundation and M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust.

About Dordt University

As an institution of higher education committed to the Reformed Christian perspective, Dordt University equips students, faculty, alumni, and the broader community to work toward Christ-centered renewal in all aspects of contemporary life. Located in Sioux Center, Iowa, Dordt is a comprehensive university named to the best college lists by U.S. News and World Report, The Wall Street Journal, Times Higher Education, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review.