The Theatrical Tapes of Leonard Thynn

The Sacred Diaries

by Adrian Plass, Dan Donovan (Illustrator)

Book by Plass, Adrian

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Christian, Comedy, Christian Fiction, Christianity

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 31, 1993

About the author

Adrian Plass is a writer and speaker who has produced over thirty books in the last twenty years. The best known of these is probably The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, a gentle satire on the modern church, which has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide. This and other books have travelled to other countries and are translated into a number of foreign languages. Other books include biography, novels, short stories, a fictionalised account of the author's experiences as a residential child care worker, and collections of poems and sketches. A bemused Anglican, Adrian lives with his wife and daughter in a small market town near the Sussex South Downs.

Adrian has been in demand as a speaker in venues as varied as prisons, schools, churches, festivals, literary dinners and theatrical settings. His work also includes contribution to national and local radio and television. Live presentations combine humour, poetry, and story telling, largely revolving around his own inadequacies and struggles as a Christian and a human being.

In recent years Adrian has been joined by his wife Bridget in presenting a more varied and dramatic style of performance. Adrian and Bridget met at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and have found particular satisfaction in being allowed to ‘do a bit of acting’. They have also been privileged to work alongside World Vision on several occasions, visiting Bangladesh and Zambia, writing two books and touring both in the UK and abroad with the aim of encouraging people to take up child sponsorship

Their work now takes them as far away as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, while trips to Europe have introduced the added dimension of speaking through interpreters. Not easy when you're trying to be funny!

Adrian's latest books include ‘Jesus Safe Tender and Extreme‘, published by Zondervan, ‘Blind Spots in the Bible’, published by BRF, and most recent of all ‘Bacon Sandwiches and Salvation’ published by Authentic Media. He and Bridget have also collaborated with friends in Canada to produce a CD of his favourite sketches from the last 20 years called ‘Preaching to the Converted’ while ‘A Touch of Plass’, CTA’s documentary video, is now out on DVD.

2008 began with a visit to Bolivia for Bridget and Adrian in collaboration with the charity Toybox to look at projects involving street children. Later on there will be a DVD, a book and a number of presentations promoting their work.

Adrian's central motivation continues to be his love for Jesus, although some may feel he expresses it rather eccentrically. His passion is to communicate the need for reality in faith, and a truth that he learned during a difficult stage in his life: "God is nice and he likes me..." Some have described his work as being ‘one long confessional’. They may well be right!

Reviews

[Joakim Silverdal · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife is reading a really sad book at the moment and I must have been truly unbearable to be around during my reading of this. I simply Could. Not. Keep. The. Laughter. In.

This might be the funniest of the series, boiling the story beats down to their bare essentials with its play structure. Once I almost hurt myself from laughing so hard, and I dare anyone not to laugh at the final chapter. I dare you!

Few authors can create this laugh-out-loud environment for me, but Adrian Plass has proven, time and again, to be one of them. If you have connections to christianity you'll probably have more fun, but then again I've heard people outside of churchlife enjoying it all the same. I really needed this one Adrian. Five stars, for all the laughs.

[Jemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously hilarious.

A transcript of what happens when a group of very different members (Pious, really pious, humorous, relaxed, forgetful) of a church get together to make a play.

This book will never be not funny.

So if you're looking for (99%) clean Christian humour, here it is.

[Emily Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my all time favorites and has been for many years. When we were younger, my father had an unreasonable aversion to children's picture books so at night for bedtime story, after a Bible Story he'd read a chapter of such a book as "Winnie the Pooh", "The Chronicles of Narnia" Books, "101 Dalmatians", and so on. However, he has such a good reading voice and repertoire of voices and sound effects we kept up this tradition until we were young teens just to listen to him and we got into things like "The Lord of the Rings", "Watership Down", "Sherlock Holmes", "Lord Peter Wimsey", and so forth. Of all the books he read, though, this was the only one we asked him to reread and not just once but at least three times, and I've reread it countless times myself since, my sister and I even acting out parts of it in a skit (She insists she MUST play deaf old Mrs. Thynn if there is ever a full dramatized version of this anywhere). It's a wonderful story with a great message for Christians and the ending scene still makes me laugh just thinking about it. The best thing is now I'm grown, I lead the drama productions at my church, and I kid you not this book hits the nail on the head with how insane it is dealing with different personalities and your own perfectionism, and unforeseen "Disasters" hitting right and left, and trying to remember the focus of why we do such things (To give Jesus the Glory). I highly recommend this, and it's two predecessors in the The Sacred Diary Trilogy: Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass (Age 37 3/4), Horizontal Epistles of Andromeda Veal, Theatrical Tapes of Leonard Thynn but especially this one in particular. It's just laugh-out-loud fun with a few serious morals for "theological Thespians" thrown in in such a way as not to seem as heavy-handed as they might be. Two thumbs way up!

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever read a book that made me laugh so much! I'm not talking about mild laughter, but paroxysms, shrieking, tears running down my face. There were a couple of bits where I actually had to put the book down and laugh myself silly until I recovered. I read it a couple of weeks ago, and just remembering parts of it will bring on yet another fit of uncontrollable hysterics :) A great book for Christians!

[Emily Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have NEVER laughed so hard at a book. I had to stop reading and wipe the tears away from my eyes. Boy oh boy! Such a good way to spend an evening.

Worth while reading Adrian Plass earlier books first, “the sacred diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4” and “the Horizontal Epistles of Andromeda Veal”, purely because I think I enjoyed this book even more knowing the history of the characters. These books are also very funny. But it’s not necessary to have read them.

Wow, what a laugh!

[Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely my favourite of the Adrian Plass books so far. The cast (literally) gets up to hijinks as they prepare to put on a production of "Daniel in the Den". It may be my inner theatre kid speaking, but this was the funniest yet - while also being the most irritating! The trials and tribulations of putting on a show...

[Pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the "Sacred Diary" trilogy, this one is my favourite, guaranteed to make you properly laugh out loud as Adrian's church enter for the drama competition. Nothing goes according to plan, but the end result is amazing. A quick, feel-good read, with lots of comedy and heartfelt moments

[Marije · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heerlijk! Hard gelachen.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haha, good times. One of my favourites of the series. Excellent.

[Elizabeth Scott Tervo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The absolute best. I reread every few years. So funny, and with poignant depth too. :)

[Alan Gardine-Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the funniest book I've ever read.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good one:) little harder to keep track of because it is mainly dialogue but still quite humourous and has a wonderful message

[Benjamin Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just thinking about
the moment the ducks emerged
gets me chuckling.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little heavy handed, and you can see the jokes coming for miles, but I enjoyed it. An Alien At St Wilfrid's is still the best!

[Joel]

Just read this out loud to my younger son - easily my third or fourth read. I just love these characters.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is third in the series that begins with ‘The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, age 37 ¾’. While it could stand alone, it’s better read after the ‘Sacred Diary’, as that’s where the main characters are introduced.

It's written in the form of transcribed tapes, supposedly recorded by the enthusiastic Leonard Thynn as a church group decide to enter a drama competition. I remember thinking, when I first read it, that it had one of the funniest scenes I had ever come across.

The book isn’t particularly long - about 140 pages in my paperback edition. I found myself smiling several times, even chuckling aloud, despite knowing what was coming. As with most of Adrian Plass’s books, the humour often masks something deeper. We see how a group of diverse adults pull together to perform something. We see, too, how even a quite unpleasant person, when treated well and given an unexpected role, can start to see the world differently.

Highly recommended for anyone who has ever been part of a church or similar organisation.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/...

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the funniest of Plass's books is this story which chronicles the church's attempt to put on a drama for a Christian Drama Festival. Leonard Thynn decides to record the meetings and rehearsals as an archive of the production. And production it does become. With his dry British whit and an abundance of slapstick humor, this book will entertain again and again. You will laugh out loud.

[Sebastian]

Urkomisch, schon allein wegen des Tonbandstils. Auch wenn während der gesamten Story einige Passagen immer wieder wiederholt werden und man sich fragt, was das soll, wird man dafür am Ende um so stärker dafür belohnt, dass man bestimmte Stellen fast auswendig kann.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading "The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 ½" a few weeks ago, I decided to read this book as well. Again it is short, sweet, and very funny. Plass points out the absurdity of church without being rude. I really liked it, not quite as much as the other, but good nonetheless.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. We love this little book. This time through I read it aloud to my wife as she directed our church Christmas play. The humorous misadventures of this cast of “theological thespians” had us laughing out loud repeatedly.

Also read in 2017.

[Waterstone's Camberley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, worth a read.

[Boosmummy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hysterical. I've read this book so many times when I'm feeling down and it never fails to make me laugh, cheer me up and generally spend the rest of the day giggling to myself.

[Jannah Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading this book again, very funny, but can still reduce me to tears at the end.
God works with us and through us as we are, without leaving us where we are.

[Sarnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just laugh out loud funny! Brilliant messages wrapped up in fun and laughter. A book I have read again and again!

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just one of my favourite Adrian Plass books - one of my favourite books altogether! I nearly died of laughter

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as much fun as Andromeda Veal, but the final chapter is hilarious! Again, lots of good spiritual insight amongst the silliness.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, so funny. That duck!!