The Cheltenham Passion
Festival 2000
Good Friday, 21st
April, 2000
Check List of Arrangements
Arrangements
on the day
·
St Luke’s church hall was
booked as a base for the day.
·
The cast gathered to get ready
in St Luke’s Hall.
·
At 11-40 - we began with
Prayers for the Passion Play - led by Mike Lodge - St Luke’s Vicar
·
the cast left for Sandford Park
at 11-50
Act
1 Friendship Sandford
Mill Park
Scene 1 - The Sermon on the Mount and the Feeding of the 5000 ` 12-00
around the Fountain adjacent to College
Road
·
For
the feeding of the 5000 ... hot cross buns - St Luke’s acquired 200 hot cross
buns and brought people ready to distribute them. They came to an Act 1 Rehearsal.
·
stewards
marshalled people - and then directed people on the procession
·
help
was offered to wheel chair users to get up the steps into the French
Gardens. A ramp was available but not
used.
Scene 3 - The healing of the woman with issue of
blood - Mary Magdalene 12-15
in the space beside the narrow
path
· stewards needed to arrange people to gather
round the spot where Jesus stops
Scene 3 - The Sower, the Woman at the well, setting
out for Jerusalem 12-25
in the French Gardens
·
The
Woman at the Well needed a bucket
·
Elim
provided a fun version of the Parable of the Sower. The Elim actors were in white - the Sower is
brought on by the Harvester - the Samaritan Woman - the team are the Samaritan
people from the Woman’s town.
·
stewards
ensured that the crowd divided around the terracing ... and then kept people
off the grass. In the event this was
easier said than done as we were almost overwhelmed by torrential rain!
·
Wheel
chair users were guided to remain on the terracing
Scene 3 - The Road to Jerusalem 12-35
around the bushes just below the French
Gardens - with Friendship Circle in distance
·
stewards arranged the crowd to
the left of the bushes - looking down towards the Friendship Circle
·
help for wheel chair users down
the steps - ramp not used.
Scene
5 - the Journey to Jerusalem begins 12-40
around the Friendship Circle
·
Donkey standing by - around the
Friendship Circle - Donkey accompanied us to the gates of the city - and then
led the procession round to Cambray.
·
Palms ready to wave - stored
beside the path.
Scene
6 - At the Gates of Jerusalem 12-50
·
stewards guided people down
both sides of the fountain
·
Caiaphas, Annas and Joseph with
Bishop behind - blocking the gateway
Act 2 - Anointing
- Cambray and The High Street 12-55
·
Jesus and disciples head off
first for Cambray a break and refreshments
·
those taking part in the
hotcross bun selling ... also need to set off first ... or be waiting for us at
Cambray
·
The band went on to be ready to
greet the crowd - they stood outside Cambray’s courtyard.
·
The Police were supposed to
escort the procession across the Road ... and now escort us through the town -
in fact they did not attend.
As
we moved up Bath Street ...
·
Jesus and the disciples go
ahead and into Cambray Church - they needed somewhere to sit, and drinks and
refreshments available. In the event
they needed to dry off and warm up too!!
·
The band played Palm Sunday
hymn tunes while the crowd arrived.
·
People from Cambray and St
Matthew’s organised selling of Hot Cross Buns - sellers had hot cross buns in
trays around their necks - trays supplied by the Everyman Theatre.
·
Tables with buns at Cambray -
Peter - and Cambray people
·
Stewards were to have
accompanied the procession - but in the event had to control the traffic
·
people were ready with
programmes/publicity leaflets to give to onlookers on the street. This was organised by St Matthew’s and was an
important part of the outreach of the Play.
The intention was that all participating in the crowd ... and all
onlookers would be offered a programme.
People were also on hand to offer copies of a Gospel ... and to chat
with people.
Pigeons were provided by a member of the
Pigeon club - they were in a cage in the Courtyard and were released as Jesus
overturned the tables.
Scene
1 - cleansing
of the Temple
- just outside Cambray, 1-05
·
Stewards marshalled crowd in
front of Cambray Church
·
Band went on to the High Street
ready to welcome the crowd on arrival at Burger King.
·
hard sell of Hot Cross buns
went on until Jesus burst out of the doors with the disciples
behind and the
religious leaders shoo-ing them out.
·
tables were needed to be
overturned
·
Cambray provided a sound system
outside the Church - for Jesus and others to use.
Parade
from Cambray.
The intention had been that a ‘musical band’ would process ahead of the
cast. In the event members of the
Cheltenham Silver Band and the Salvation Army Band provided a ‘static’ band at
Cambray, on the High Street, on the Promenade outside Hoopers, at the
Crucifixion scene and again on Easter Sunday morning. 1-15
Scene
2 - The Last
Week 1-25
On
the pedestrianised area in front of the Regent’s Arcade
There is a rectangle between the two sets
of marked cobbles, and between the lamp - posts outside the Regent’s Arcade and
the benches at the top of Regent’s Street - there is a lamp post in the middle.
The Action took place using staging
blocks opposite Burger King - on the
long side of the Rectangle - outside a Night Club Entrance.
·
Staging blocks from Bournside
School were transported around on a trolley from the Lido by volunteer stewards
from the Lido. The staging blocks were
very simple and easily carried.
·
with the staging we needed a
number of props - cup for the Last Supper - bag of money for the religious
leaders - one of them can have been carrying it under their robes from the
beginning. Cloth for the foot-washing
- this could be something that Jesus had carried round with him under his
robes. Strong smelling perfume for Mary
Magdalene to pour over Jesus - she might have picked this up at Cambray. A bottle of the Cheltenham Millennium Wine -
[Grape juice] - and the bucket carried by the Woman at the Well.
·
The Harvest Arts theatre people
had been with us - they needed to be in place at the head of the procession.
·
The band took their stand at
the far end of the rectangle - at the top of Regent’s Street
Procession
from the staging - round to Cavendish House 1-50
·
Judas and the Religious Leaders
went on ahead
·
The Band then followed and set
themselves up at the beginning of the pedestrianised area of the Promenade -
they played Holy Week hymn tunes.
·
The marching band had marched
down to the Promenade and had spent time counter marching - this was a good
preview for the arrival of the Play!
·
Jesus followed ... then the
women ... then the disciples and the crowd
·
the staging blocks were pulled
round to Cavendish House and set out ready for Garden of Gethsemane and Trial
scenes.
·
we needed to work out an exact
spot for each pair of women to stand
Act
3 - Betrayal - The Promenade
Scene 1 - The Garden of Gethsemane 2-00
on
the Pedestrianised Area under the trees outside Cavendish House
·
staging blocks needed for Jesus
and the three disciples - Peter
·
stewards marshalled the crowd
into a similar rectangle under the trees
·
Judas and the religious leaders
went to the far end of that area by the Bank -
·
the cadet force stewards and
other uniformed stewards were to have marshalled the crowd keeping access for
shoppers but in the event had to keep the traffic down. Some of the uniformed Cadets were prominent
in the Garden of Gethsemane ready for the arrest and trial scene.
·
Peter needed a sword.
Scene 2 - Trial before the Religious Authorities 2-15
This took place at the opposite end of
the acting area. Effectively it was a
single piece of action.
Procession
up the Promenade to the Municipal Offices
·
We went up the wide pavement -
and then through the two gaps past the war memorial and gathered the crowd in
front of the steps of the Town Hall
·
the Church Lads and Girls
brigade provided the marching band and went ahead of the procession
·
then came Jesus under arrest -
with the Religious leaders
·
the crowd then followed
·
the disciples held back and
mingled in with the crowd from this point on.
·
the women are mingled in with
the crowd - but when we get to the War Memorial - they went on to the Tourist
Information Bureau where the banners were stored ready for them to pick up and
use for the Way of the Cross. The
banners were attached to 8 foot poles with a cross bar creating a cross
shape. In the event some of the poles
were damaged in the wind. It was necessary to have two people to each banner.
.
Scene 3 - Trial before the Civil Authorities
Outside entrance to the Municipal Offices
- 2-25
·
Pilate and Herod waited inside
the Municipal Office entrance. They had
not joined in up until this point. They
were in touch with the organisers by mobile phone.
·
Dave Banyard, the Mayor, was able to ensure that the entrance hall was
opened and staffed by one Council worker.
This was a great boon and made a world of difference..
·
A sound system was set up on
the steps of the Municipal Offices.
There was a microphone for Jesus, one for Pilate/Herod and one for the
religious leaders. It was possible to
amplify this scene very effectively.
·
We asked if it was possible to
have flags flying from the flag poles but this was not possible. It would have been very effective. In the event we provided a couple of big red flags.
·
A crown of thorns and a purple
robe was ready.
·
The banners were stored in the
Tourist Information Bureau - our thanks to the staff for opening the office
specially.
·
The wooden cross was standing
ready - within the wall around the War Memorial.
The
Way of the Cross 2-40
·
The Church lads brigade band
led the way - with drum beats only
·
Then the Women with their
banners
·
We worked out precise spot for
each pair of women to stand - at equal distances from the Municipal Offices
right round to the site of the crucifixion.
·
Alongside the third pair of
women - 3 daughters of Jerusalem.
·
Alongside the fifth pair of
women - Simon of Cyrene
·
Alongside the sixth pair of
women - Mary the Mother of Jesus
·
Alongside the ninth pair of
women - Veronica with a cloth
·
Alongside the 11th
pair of women - two thieves -
·
Then Jesus carrying the cross
·
and soldiers and execution
party
·
and then the crowd
The procession went up the wide pavement
to the traffic lights - across to the other side of the Promenade and over the
traffic lights to the Quadrangle insurance building.
The sequence of Stations of the Cross
begins outside the Quadrangle building on the wide pavement towards the top of
the Promenade.
The effect of this was to have been that
from the War Memorial up as far as the Quadrangle Insurance buildings it was
simply a procession headed by the Church lads Brigade band and the women
carrying their Banners. In the event Jesus was escorted by the Roman Guards
through the war memorial and back to the Promenade - the crowd had a will of
its own!
The Procession then turns into the main
path through the Imperial Gardens.
Act
4 - Death
The Calvary Scene took place on a slight
rise in the grass opposite the gate to the Walled Garden - just behind the
floral ‘crest’..
·
Scaffolding was erected on
Thursday afternoon. This was organised by the Prestbury Churches with full
co-operation with the Parks and Gardens department.
·
Volunteers remained with the
scaffolding until the early hours of Good Friday.
Scaffolding was dismantled an hour or so
after the end of the Passion Play. It
had been erected professionally - it was dismantled by volunteers who were
qualified builders and stored in Prestbury until it could be collected by the
firm from whom we had hired it.
The
Crucifixion 2-50
On the grass behind the Town Hall
·
The drums of the Church Lads
brigade took us as far as the Cross
·
The Execution party began the
preparations for the Crucifixion as soon as they arrived
·
the stewards marshalled the
crowd around the foot of the Cross
·
the ‘musical’ Band had taken up
their position between the scaffolding and the Town Hall. They did not play until after the end of the
play when they came in with When I survey the Wondrous. They went on to play a selection of Good
Friday hymns tunes for about twenty minutes - they finished once more with When
I survey.
·
The characters playing the
parts in Act 4 needed to be in place around the cross.
The
Burial 3-05
The final words were spoken by the
Narrator from the scaffolding at the foot of the Cross as the body of Christ
was being carried away for burial
·
We needed to ensure that the
gate to the walled garden was open
·
The disciples carrying Christ
to the Garden had among their number two GP’s - they checked that Matt playing
the part of Christ was all right - he had been exposed to the elements for
about 15 minutes on the cross. He was
wrapped in a survival blanket and coat - and left with a flask of coffee and
other eats.
·
A stage flat painted green with
a rock on it was pushed in front of the gate
·
the Women remain around the
cross with the banners - and the band continued playing hymns about the cross -
for a further ten minutes. Disiples and
other members of the cast sat on the steps
·
the cast return to St Luke’s
Hall
·
Matt waited in the Walled
Garden until the crowds had virtually dispersed - he was relieved by Richard
and accompanied back to St Luke’s Hall to rejoin the cast.
·
St Luke’s provided warm drinks,
soup and rolls for the cast. In all
there were about 80 in the costumed cast.
·
We finish at St Luke’s hall
with Prayers to conclude the day.
Act
5 - Resurrection 8-00 on Easter Sunday Morning
The crowd gathered by 8-00 in the morning
facing the gate to the walled garden. The walled garden was open - but no one
went into the Garden. Churches Together
in Cheltenham celebrated Easter.
·
Gardeners took up their
positions by 7-15
·
Stewards were at the walled
garden by 7-30
·
Cast met at 7-30 at St Andrew’s
·
7-50 prayers and the cast moved
over to the Imperial Gardens Prayers
were led in the Church by Glyn Jenkins and Joan Winterbottom - the URC
ministers.
·
We need to ensure that the gate
to the walled garden was open - we were able to borrow the keys for the
week-end.
·
We returned to St Andrew’s for
breakfast 8-30
·
Finish with prayers - Richard
to arrange with Glyn and Joan
Numbers We
started with 600 in Sandford Park and ended on Good Friday with 2000 in the
Imperial Gardens. We were 600 on Easter
morning.
Traffic
control We needed traffic control from
the Police but in the event this did not materialise. The route was agreed with the police well in
advance. The procession followed the
flow of traffic, for the most part along pedestrianised routes. There was a minimum of disuption to the
traffic of the town. Permission was
granted - and a letter received from the Borough Council traffic department
confirming that we had all the permissions necessary. Richard had a phone conversation on Friday, 3rd
March with the the Sergeant responsible for such events. He was happy with the arrangements for the
day and could foresees no problems - he felt it was not necessary to have a
meeting. He had the initial draft
time-table. A letter announced
subsequently that because of ‘best value’ the police would not be present. Richard contacted them on the phone and
explained the need for police help with the traffic - arrangement were agreed
to be in attendance. Richard submitted
to the police in person detailed timetable and arrangements for the event. In the event the police did not attend. It was not easy marshalling 2000 people
through the town centre without any police presence - it can be argued that it
is not wise.
Stewarding We
had hoped to have traffic control provided by the Police in the way that they
have been accustomed to doing for the Good Friday Walk of Witness - in addition
we would supply stewards to marshal the procession as per the guidance of the
police. Our stewards would then marshal
the procession. We had approximately 25
stewards - many of whom had to be diverted away from marshalling the crowds to
directing traffic.
Sound Sound systems
were used at Cambray and on the steps of the Municipal Offices. For the remainder of the event voices were
not amplified. We devoted a whole
evening to voice coaching from Paul Birch, a professional actor. This was
invaluable. We used acoustic instruments
for any music - including drums, brass instruments, maybe Salvation Army
band.
Staging
and Props We
used a minimum of staging and props.
None in Sandford Park. Staging is
needed on the High Street and outside Cavendish House on the Promenade. Six blocks were borrowed from Bournside and
pulled round on a trolley from the Lido.
At Imperial Gardens we erected
scaffolding for a stage for the Calvary scene.
It was hired at a cost of £500.
It was erected on Thursday, guarded on Thursday night and dismantled on
Friday evening. This was in close
liaison with the Council and following all their safety stipulations.
The license to use the Parks insists that
any erections be checked by their Building inspectors for safety.
Costumes
were arranged by a team using ...
·
costumes from Charlton Kings
Players
·
the Prestbury Passion Play
·
the Centurion’s robes together
with the Guards’ robes were hired from RSC, Stratford.
Insurance Cover
was taken out with the Ecclesiastical Insurance Company to provide public
liability insurance. This was a
condition of our use of the parks and highways.
Parking We encouraged people to use
Public Transport, Park and Ride and the Town Car Parks
Toilets There are public
toilets in Royal Well, and at the Town Hall.
If it was felt necessary we could arrange to have access to town centre
churches. Cambray was open at the time
of the Cleansing of the Temple.
First
Aid First Aid cover was provided by the St John Ambulance Brigade
according to their advice.
Licenses Licenses and permissions were needed from the Road and Traffic
department and the Parks and Gardens department of the Borough Council ... and
also from the Police.
