Starting Small
Putting on a Passion Play may seem like a daunting task and a huge commitment. It is sometimes hard to know where to start. If you are considering putting on a Passion Play but it you are still working out how to get your core team together or reading through our manual and resources, you might like to make the first step by organising a Walk of Witness in your local community.
Some people also organise a ‘Stations of the Cross’ event in their church. You can see images from a Good Friday procession based on the stations of the cross in Hastings Old Town on Good Friday here.
What is this?
A good place to start is to organise a Good Friday procession with monologues. Many churches already have a procession through the local community with the cross. You can have Jesus carrying the cross, or you can have normal people taking turns to carry the cross.
Schedule stops at various points where an actor gives a monologue. See our website for examples of monologues.
Think about flash mobs that erupt in the middle of busy areas. Instead of a cross, you could also have pall bearers carrying a coffin or a man in handcuffs escorted by uniformed men to catch attention?
What resources do we need? A cross, props/costume, actors, film/ photography
What is the cost? £0 – £500
What actors do we need? 5 actors and lots of people for support and to draw a crowd!
How long does it take to plan and rehearse? 1 month
How can PT help? On our website we have lots of monologues for inspiration. We can provide wood for a cross. We can provide advice from directors.
Beginning to grow
Taking the next step towards a Passion Play may be to use drama or music to expand your Walk of Witness. Processions of the cross through key locations in your community can be accompanied by dramatic monologues or re-enactments of specific scenes. Using flash mobs and interactive theatre are also effective.
You can see a Passion Play based on the ‘Way of the Cross’ in Gloucester here.
Growing to a small Passion Play
Putting on a small Passion Play does not need to be an impossible task. The Passion Trust can help with costumes, props, staging, and funding. Keeping it small means that costs are kept to a minimum and often there is no need for professional a sound system if the play is performed to a small audience. You can see the Passion Plays in Worcester, Hamilton, Bishop Auckland, Abingdon, and Poole.
Some people also decide to work with their local Christian theatre companies (such as LAMPS Collective or Oddments Theatre Company) who travel around the UK with their productions.
A small Passion Play with scenes staged at different locations in the town/city to audiences of hundreds. Audience members meet at a set location and are moved between scenes by people in costume. Potential for rolling performances where each scene is repeated at half hour intervals for new audiences.
Choose 4 locations in your town or city that would be good to stage the following 4 scenes:
- Jesus miracles
- Last supper/Judas betrayal
- Crucifixion
- Resurrection
Your actors will usher people from one location to the next and the scenes will unfold around them as they move from one part to the next. Repeat multiple times for new groups…
What resources do we need? Props/costume, film/ photography
What is the cost? £1,000 – £5,000
What actors do we need? Small cast of experienced actors who can work with small community cast.
How long does it take to plan and rehearse? 3 months
How can PT help? We can help with costumes and props. We can provide advice from directors. We have scripts available.
Expanding to a large Passion Play
A large Passion Play is an exciting and rewarding experience, but it can also be a daunting one. The best plays are ones that have experienced professionals playing key roles, directing or producing. Because they perform to larger audiences, they will also need sound equipment and technicians so everyone can hear what is being said.
The Passion Trust can help with funding and advice at every stage of putting on a larger Passion Play. You can see the Passion Plays in Edinburgh, Trafalgar Square, Birmingham, and Hornchurch. Some people also decide to partner with professional theatre companies like Saltmine which have a small group of experienced young actors who work with local communities to put on Passion Plays. Saltmine has worked with local volunteers to put on Passion Plays in Birmingham, Norwich, and Stafford. You can find out more about them here.
A large Passion Play that takes place in the town or city centre drawing large crowds of thousands and with a large community cast, support from all local churches, and experienced/professional producer/director/actors.
What resources do we need? Props/costume, sound system is the most expensive thing you need, PR, film/ photography.
What is the cost? £5,000 – £50,000
What actors do we need? Professional actors who can work with large community cast.
How long does it take to plan and rehearse? 9 months to a year.
How can PT help? We can help with costumes and props. We can provide advice from directors. We have scripts available. We have full manual available on our website.
