The Spiral Staircare

Description

'The Spiral Staircase' is a dramatic family thriller that centres around the lives of two estranged brothers, the twin sons of a successful artist, whose death in the first act sets off a chain of events that changes all of their lives forever. The eldest son Jake, aided by his manipulative mother, inherits his father's last painting 'The Spiral Staircase', a valuable piece that had always been promised to his favourite child Joshua. When Joshua finds out that Jake and his mother had changed his father's will to benefit themselves, leaving him with nothing, he is furious and vows to seek his vengeance. Jake flees to London where he has arranged to sell the painting to an underground art dealer. Along his journey, he is warned of the fate that awaits him by a homeless man he encounters one night but Jake's pride is too strong and he eventually realises the error of his ways when he is robbed of the painting, beaten and left for dead. The story ends when Joshua, on hearing of Jake's fate, visits him in hospital and forgives him for his betrayal.

Biblical Connection

The Biblical source of inspiration comes from the book of Genesis Chapters 25 to 33 and the story of Jacob. 'The Spiral Staircase' is a dramatic family thriller that retells the three key moments of Jacob's story: the manipulation of his brother Esau in the deceitful acquisition of the family birthright, his dream of a ladder to heaven and his final conflict with God. I want to reconstruct Jacob's character as the proud firstborn whose jealousy of his younger brother turns him into a deceitful and arrogant antagonist who plots with his mother to steal his brother's inheritance. As in Jacob's dream, the main character is given a sign as he sleeps, but it is a warning, not a message of hope. In the final act of the story, and reflecting Jacob's struggle with God in Genesis Chapter 32, Jake's pride eventually leads to his downfall. The painting is stolen and he is left for dead. Like Jacob, he finally realises his mistakes as he recovers in hospital. As Esau does in Genesis Chapter 33, his younger brother Joshua finds compassion and forgiveness for Jake, reassuring him that all will be well between them.