What C.S. Lewis taught about temptation — and how this play brought it to life

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Playwright Max McLean explained how C.S. Lewis' works remain relevant today.

McLean called Lewis' ideas of spiritual warfare "very compelling" to audiences.

He also credited that to the success of his stage adaptation of "The Screwtape Letters," with a film adaptation set to begin production in late 2027.

SALT LAKE CITY — A packed audience at Salt Lake City's Capitol Theatre erupted in laughter Saturday evening as Screwtape, a character conceived by C.S. Lewis in his 1942 novel "The Screwtape Letters," struggles to mentor his nephew in the demon art of temptation.

As the theater repeatedly filled with laughs, playwright Max McLean proved a claim he had made during an interview with the Deseret News a few days earlier — Lewis, a Christian writer best known for his "Chroni