From Walk of Witness to Passion Play
There are many Walks of Witness happening around the UK. These involve groups of Christians processing through their town or city, often following a large wooden cross or with singing. These processions take place on Good Friday and the destination is the church where a service will take place.
Are you taking part in a Walk of Witness?
For many people, this is a devotional experience where they reflect on the journey Jesus took on the way to his death. It is an embodied experience offering the chance to reflect and pray on the events of Good Friday. They are also a good example of ecumenical processions where Christians from all denominations meet together to walk and pray.
These events are mostly free and you can check local parish websites / “Churches Together” groups for Stations of the Cross walks or Walks of Witness through town centres on Good Friday.
Do you want to see your Walk of Witness grow?
A Walk of Witness can be seen as the first step towards a large Passion Play. But a large Passion Play can be intimidating – it needs professional elements, long rehearsals, a large volunteer cast and often a substantial budget. What is a more manageable step in growing your Walk of Witness?
Dramatic Monologues
Many people are fascinated by historical information or imaginative exploration of the back story to the events of Good Friday and Easter. The back story of characters such as Peter or Judas is an insightful exercise to help imagine the impact of the crucifixion. Dramatic monologues allow people to get to know the characters involved in the Good Friday story. You might like to watch or even perform dramatic monologues like the one below from Havant Passion Play. You can watch similar monologues on our website as part of your Easter reflections.
Watching a Passion Play
If you want to put on a Passion Play you can connect with Christian theatre companies who put on touring Passion Plays every year. Generally these take place in indoor venues such as churches or community centres. Some professional actors also include volunteers in their cast. You can find out more information on our blog on touring Passion Plays. You can also view our interactive map to find one near you.
If you want to take part in a Passion Play, there are Christian theatre companies who have special projects where they work with local actors. Watching a Passion Play is a unique experience, but taking part in the cast is even more so!
Taking Part in a Passion Play
The Passion Trust can help you with this! Our vision is to support the revival of Passion Plays in the UK and to support every town and city who wants to have a free performance of the Easter story in their local community. Free Passion Plays are exciting events that draw the largest audience of outdoor theatre in the UK!
We have free resources for help at every stage of the process and our trustees give personalised help and funding. From practical questions like ‘how do we raise money?’ or ‘how do we work with the local council?’ to creative questions like ‘how do we find a professional actor to play Jesus?’ or ‘where can we get free costumes?’ We can also connect you with local Christian theatre companies who work with volunteer casts to put on a Passion Play.
You can see photographs of recent Passion Plays below and as you see, there are a range of approaches from traditional costume to contemporary costume! Testimonials show how inspiring and life-changing it can be to take part in the cast and crew, as well as to join the live audience in familiar locations of your local community.
I invited a non Christian friend to the event. She found me at midday, stuck to me until 4 pm and was in Church the next day. – Janice, Hereford
Thankyou so much. This was very moving and emotional. Amazing actors and actresses. A wonderful way to celebrate Easter. I hope this can be a regular event. Much appreciated. Happy Easter everyone. – Jeanette, Hull
Very moving and made you feel as if you were there and part of the story. – Anon, Lanarkshire
I got more than blessings watching. I burst into tears when Jesus walked back alive. Thank you all so much for your hard work. – Susan, Havant
