BENNINGTON – When the poet Randall Jarrell penned his classic World War II poem, “Eighth Air Force,” he invoked the image of Pontius Pilate washing his hands in a bowl to symbolize he wanted nothing to do with any responsibility for the death of Jesus Christ. Importantly, Jarrell, while musing on the collateral civilian damage done by mass bombings of Germany doubled down on the Gospel recounting that Pilate found no issues with Christ.

This thought came back to me last weekend at Bennington’s Monument Arts and Cultural Center (MACC), while attending the American premiere of Michael Punter’s one-man play, “The Lost Gospel of Pontius Pilate,” with direction and production supervision by Kristine Lewis. The show starred veteran British-American stage, TV and film actor Maxwell Caulfield.

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