Watch Mr. Wesley
THE MAN FROM ALDERSGATE
This historical one man play, written entirely from the journals of John Wesley, traces life events from his birth in 1703 to his death in 1791.
Through the play, we experience the life and times of this remarkable man who rode over 250,000 miles on horseback to help bring the Christian message of renewal to the English speaking world.
Wesley’s simple message of Grace encourages people to love and serve God and resist the temptation to conform to the destructive ways of their culture. Through his influence, he probably did more than any other figure in British history to avert the same type of bloody revolution experienced in France.
His untiring zeal for God helped bring about prison reform, child labor laws, orphanages, medical care facilities and even shelters for battered women.
Through the play, we see Wesley encounter multiple characters who greatly influenced his life:
A highwayman who steals his purse
Susannah Wesley, his mother
Peter Bohler, Moravian cleric
James Oglethorpe, Governor of the Colony of Georgia
William Wilberforce, English Parliamentarian who helped end slavery
We experience the retelling of his narrow escape from a house fire set by unhappy parishioners. We meet his mother, Susannah and hear about how her keen, disciplined and methodical ways influenced John and his 9 living siblings.
After graduating from Oxford, while sailing to America to minister to the colonists and Indians, we learn of his close brush with death during a near tragic storm.
Finally, after 35 years of trying to earn his own salvation, John tells the moving story of what compelled him to spend the last 54 years of his life riding his horse all over England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland encouraging people to serve God by helping one another.
The two act play, including a short intermission, is approximately 90 minutes in length and can be adjusted to fit a shorter time limit.
The simple set consists of several chairs, a table, a trunk and a rocking chair.
