How to create a scene…and gather an audience!
The Worcester Passion Play opened with the Palm Sunday procession onto in Cathedral Square which created quite a scene and gathered an audience. Four doves are released during the confrontation with money-changers in the temple which also creates a scene. In addition, some people in the audience may have recognised the Bishop as one of the people crucified alongside Jesus! Director and producer Tim Crowe describes how they gathered an audience in Worcester:
Actors and volunteers from the cast actually came through the audience and that creates a certain sort of atmosphere very quickly and the they promptly follow that with we follow promptly, with the healing of the child that hasn’t walked, and the leper. And I think those are very dramatic and effective moments. Jesus, turning stuff over in the Temple is also very dramatic, as he releases four doves.
Jesus has a confrontation with the priests. and then he says, I’m taking this woman to the temple to pray, and after a few minutes he then gets angry because of the trading in the Temple, and as part of that he does the table over and releases some doves. They fly up into the air above the acting area when released, and fly back to [the owner’s] house and garden. On one occasion they arrived with a with a pigeon in tow, so he actually had a bonus.
And we had the Bishop up on one of the crosses. He’s one of the thieves has been all all 3 years. He’s been up The cast voted he would be the thief that didn’t repent. And we had the head of the Catholic Church in the city. Father Brian Mcginley, he’s one of the priests. Lovely man, lovely Christian man, and so it brings people together from different persuasions or different practices or denominations presenting the essential message of the Christian faith.
The Passion Play in Havant was performed in the city centre for the first time in 2024. Previous performances were in the park, but this year they took to the streets and drew a crowd with a procession, complete with palm branches as Jesus arrived on Barney the donkey. Actor Neil Maddock describes what it was like:
In the center of town on market day on the Saturday, especially when it was really really busy. We thought that we may get hecklers or people shouting out as they get by but there was nothing. And I think it’s because people stopped and were just kind of taken up in the story. At the very beginning we processed up the road. It was. you know, one hundred meters or so, one hundred and fifty at the very most and that was that was sort of before the production began. It was to build a bit of a crowd and to get attention, and we also had Barney, the donkey. You really did get that sense that there was almost this sort of peace and this calm around the area while we performing, and especially when it got to the crucifixion parts and the resurrection parts.
Do you have stories about watching or taking part in a Passion Play? We would love to hear your stories. You can find out where Passion Plays are taking place next Easter by checking out our interactive map here.
