Synopsis
The Diviners - A Play in Two Acts and Elegies
Published by Samuel French Inc
Large Mixed Cast
A slice of small-town life in the '30s, where rain is far more important than electricity
Where religion hangs on even without a church
And where everyday toils, like fixing a bicycle, take on an importance often lost in a large city
This is a play about friendship, family and community, and a time when these things were hard to find, and even harder to hold onto
While the rest of the country lays divided and demoralized by the ravages of the Great Depression, the people of this story manage to weather the storm
In a true community, the joys and pains of the individual are shared and shouldered by all, and it is this sense of community that binds these people together, allowing them to persevere with determination, hope and good humor
Possessed by a great respect for the land and those with which they share it, the people of Zion still believe in common courtesy, and the value of a handshake
Stylistically, the play has a hymn-like quality
It is spare, haunting, and yet ultimately human, and filled with warmth
There is a reverence for life in the play, even in its depiction of human frailty and death.
And also a tremendous faith in the human capacity for goodness
Written in 1980, the play was Leonard's debut as a playwright, winning him the American College Theatre Festival national competition that year
An instant hit, it was then staged at the New York's Circle Repertory Company
Variety applauded "The Diviners" as "a splendid drama ... with poetic as well as human feeling"