Lancaster
Emma wrote a script which balanced touches of humour with a reverential treatment of scripture, allowing a retelling of the story which was comprehensive but accessible.
North Lancashire Passion Play was performed outdoors and in churches in four locations around North Lancashire. It took place in St Oswald’s, Warton at 7.30pm on April 11th 2019; Church of the Ascension, Torrisholme at 2pm on April 13th 2019; Lancaster Priory at 7.30pm on April 13th and Lancaster City Centre at 12.30pm on April 19th. The production was devised, directed and co-ordinated by Emma Rucastle, a freelance theatre practitioner. Between the 4 performances, an estimated audience of around 400 people watched the Easter story unfold around and amongst them. Many more heard about it via coverage on Radio Lancashire’s faith programme.
Cast and Production Team
A cast of 25 community actors, ranging in age from 7 to over 90, took part in the performance. Some of these were first-time performers, some highly experienced. Four vicars helped by consulting on the production and venue arrangements, as did the leader of Lancaster Churches Together, who was also in the cast. A professional theatre director/practitioner co-ordinated the whole, assisted by a professional Music Director. Both the director and music director also performed in the production. One of the actors said, “Emma gave her cast of amateurs the skills and confidence not only to act in four very different venues but to sing in each performance – not an easy task!”. Many other people took roles stewarding venues, film-making, in the provision of refreshments and prayer support. Again, there was a wide range of ages and experience levels.
Press Coverage of the North Lancashire Passion Play
The head of BBC Radio Lancashire’s faith programming came to the first production evening. Here he interviewed the director and cast pre-show. He was so impressed that he featured the interviews more than once on the radio. Furthermore he played them several times on Good Friday morning, encouraging the public to come to see the production in Lancaster City Centre. Several members of the audience told us they had come because of hearing the interviews that morning. All the churches involved publicised the play to their communities. The production will feature via an interview with the director in a forthcoming edition of the Church Times.
Audience Response
The reaction from the audience to the play has fantastic. It moved some members of the audience and the cast to tears. Our most unique feature – commented on appreciatively by many – was that there was no one actor playing ‘Jesus’. This part was shared throughout the cast, sometimes with multiple actors playing the role at once. The idea behind this was to encourage the audience to see the Jesus in each and every person and in themselves. One actor said “I enjoyed the privilege of playing Jesus”.
The Passion Play was a most impressive new production…Within a few minutes of the first performance there was a real sense that the audience was deeply engaged in what was happening around them; the silences during the play were particularly profound. The references to current world issues worked very well and reminded us of the relevance of the story to today’s world.
