As a teen, authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien opened up worlds for me that were both fantastic and faith-filled. I wouldn’t come to understand the deeper Catholic motifs in The Lord of the Rings until well after my own conversion to the Catholic faith in 1995, but I cannot deny the role the books played in my own love of literature and aspirations towards writing.

During the mid-2000s, while serving as a journalist for the Register, I found the vocation of writing in a home office lonely. To connect with fellow writers, I organized a loose group of Minnesota writers, editors and academics known as the “Minnklings.”

In imitation of the Protestant Lewis and Catholic Tolkien’s Inklings writer’s group, we gathered semi-regularly to share our work and offer peer critiques. I found the gatherings a source of needed comradery with fellow writers and an opportunity to share and improve my work through the feedback of others. The group provided friendship and sustenance to continue thinking and writing.

Therefore, watching the U.S. premiere of Ron Reed’s Tolkien at Open Window Theatre on a recent weekend was far more deeply affecting than I could have imagined. There was much to relate to. The play not only brought the authors and their friendship to life, but also helped to enter the deeper magic, if you will, of their stories.

The seven-person play, directed by Joe Hendren, is not a play of dramatic action, but more a play about the drama of life and the friendship between Tolkien (Shad Cooper) and Lewis (Caleb Cabiness), with the occasional appearance of fellow Inklings Hugo Dyson, Charles Williams and Warnie Lewis. Roy Campbell and Edith Tolkien also make appearances.

The friendship of Tolkien and Lewis gave birth not only to the worlds of Middle-earth and Narnia, but also to the atheist Lewis’ own faith and eventual conversion to Christianity. All of this is explored through superb acting. The story alternates between the men’s respective offices, homes and The Eagle and Child Pub, where the Inklings met to share their writing. The play follows the two between 1926 and 1963, culminating with Lewis’ death.

Tolkien allows theatergoers to “eavesdrop” on their conversations, hear snippets of their work and listen to their disagreements, and discover how Lewis and Tolkien met at Oxford and how their Inklings writer’s group got started, plus learn about their friendship and its deterioration. The introduction, by Lewis, of Charles Williams, creates tension between the friends. Lewis’ later popularity, due to his popular World War II radio broadcasts and writing, eclipses Tolkien, leading to some animosity.

Playwright Ron Reed, who serves as artistic director emeritus with Pacific Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, explained how he developed these fraternal frictions for the stage.

“Over the space of a couple years I did a lot of reading about Tolkien, Lewis, Charles Williams, and the people in their circle, Inklings and otherwise. Everything I found went into a rather massive spreadsheet, organized by date, which revealed connections between events that I hadn’t read about in the literature, but which shed light on the progress of the Tolkien-Lewis friendship. Most striking was the fact that, on Oct. 27, 1949, Lewis’ brother Warnie wrote in his journal, ‘No one turned up after dinner,’ marking the end of the Inklings gatherings that had gone on for more than a decade — on the same night that Lewis wrote his beautiful letter in praise of the completed Lord of the Rings, concluding with the words, ‘I miss you very much.’ I was also curious about an earlier period when Tolkien seemed to sour on his friendship with Lewis; and by putting all my notes in that timeline spreadsheet realized that Tolkien’s doctor was at the same time urging him to take a sabbatical to address his extreme overwork and stress, which Tolkien refused to do — helping me see that this difficult stretch in their relationship, and this period when Tolkien suffered extreme writer’s block, came about largely because of pressures which in fact had nothing to do with Lewis at all.”

The alacrity of Caleb Cabiness’ portrayal of Lewis and the melancholia of Cooper’s Tolkien provide insight into the writers and their relationship through good times and bad. The depiction of Tolkien’s angst during the period when he wasn’t writing felt genuine and authentic. It captured well the emotions and moods of a writer. Fans of the men’s work will enjoy discovering the “Easter eggs” within the play that reference themes and characters from their books.

Tolkien offers a well-researched, realistic and rare glimpse into the creative process and the Christian imagination as it played out against the backdrop of World War II and the lives of these prolific authors. Open Window prides itself on telling redemptive stories of faith, hope and reconciliation. Ultimately, Tolkien is a story about friendship and forgiveness. I found it a joy to spend time with the “authors” and didn’t want the play to end.

LEARN MORE

Tolkien runs through March 30, 2025 in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.

Content Advisory: Occasional moderate profanity and some moderately graphic descriptions of atrocities committed during the Spanish Civil War.