In a world in which god is all but non-existent, what is left for the devil to do without their number one play mate? It’s one of many questions in Dogstar Theatre’s compelling adaptation of James Robertson’s The Testament Of Gideon Mack. A profound piece on grief and the loss of faith, it follows the flip-flopping timeline of the Reverend Mack’s youth, emancipations and later struggles with belief, and his flirtations with sin and infidelity. Gideon is a perceptive, generous, though altogether uncomfortable man who loses god but finds the devil after falling into a gorge; the latter is played exceptionally by adaptor Matthew Zajac, who captures the jaded sense of an eternity in a numbed world without a bitter rival left.

The shades and hues of Mack’s personal hell present themselves effectively, underscoring the play’s supernatural elements and coaxing the audience deeper into his journey as the storytelling structure bounces across the timeline. The use of a pulpit and coloured standing stone offers an arresting weight, and allied to the sound of rushing waters, it all comes together to maintain a simple, clean, though occasionally safe production which preserves the essence of Robertson’s original work. 

With key performances from Zajac and Molly Innes (as Gideon’s long-suffering mother Agnes), the crux of this show’s success is how Kevin Lennon crafts Gideon with a captivating presence while poking at the listlessness of our own struggles through the mires of life. In Meghan De Chastelain’s production, the levels of credibility and debate become grounded (the inescapable influence of Scottish Presbyterianism echoing throughout), rooting the universal scrabble of good and evil firmly on home territory in a compelling deconstruction of faith and the devil you know. 

The Testament Of Gideon Mack, Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock, Wednesday 5 March; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Thursday 6–Saturday 8 March; The Gaiety Theatre, Ayr, Wednesday 12 March; Dundee Rep, Thursday 13 & Friday 14 March; reviewed at Macrobert Art Centre, Stirling; main picture: Paul Campbell.