The Cheltenham
Passion Play
Introduction to the Script
Good Friday 2000
When the Free
Church Council of Cheltenham became part of Churches Together in Cheltenham,
many felt that they wanted to continue the tradition of a Walk of Witness on
Good Friday, but include all the Churches of Cheltenham and not just the Free Churches . At the same time the Churches of Prestbury
felt that they wanted to share the well-established Prestbury Passion Play with
the whole of Cheltenham for the
Millennium. As those two thoughts came
together, so the Cheltenham Passion Play was conceived. One time Director of the Prestbury Passion
Play, Daphne Philpott, has given me
extensive help in writing and re-writing the script. The Script has arisen from ideas shared by
Sara Jay, Daphne Philpott, Jonquil Harrison, Liz Holtham, Bob Lyle, Philip and
Lucy Smith and all those who first met early in 1998 and walked the route!
The concept of our
Passion play is very much inspired by the wonderfully creative work of Sara
Jay. The script is largely drawn from
the words of the Bible. The text that
has been used is Eugene Peterson’s The Message with occasional use of the New
Revised Standard Version and the Good News Bible. It is worth quoting the blurb on the back
cover of The Message. In a way it
captures some of the hopes we have for our own presentation of the Passion of
Christ at Easter 2000.
“It is commonly assumed that a book dealing
with a holy God should sound elevated, stately, and ceremonial. If this is how you’ve always viewed the New
Testament you’re about to make a surprising discovery.
“One of he most striking features of the New Testament
is that it was written in the street language of the day. The idiom of the playground and marketplace -
not the formal, lofty language of government decrees and historical documents.
“Written in the rhythms and idiom of contemporary
language - the way you’d talk with friends, write a letter or discuss politics
- The Message brings out the expressive, earthy flavour of the New Testament
Greek. Which means that, whether you’ve
been reading the Bible for years or are exploring it for the first time. The Message will startle and surprise
you. And it will allow you to experience
firsthand the same power and directness that motivated its original readers to
change the course of history many centuries ago.”
In the parts of
Judas Iscariot, Joseph of Arimathea and Herod there is a certain degree of
dramatic licence which contributes to the telling of the story without
detracting from the biblical text.
Indeed there is justification for the way their parts are portrayed in
the biblical text. Any elaboration is
drawn from the text, not imposed on it.
The play very
deliberately avoids type-casting the Jews as the ‘bad guys’. The whole point of the Gospel message is that
we all share responsibility for the death of Jesus. Various devices are used to suggest that
Christ’s conflict was with all the
powers that be - secular and religious.
Even more significant than that is the way the play emphasises that it
is not a straightforward case of good guys and bad guys - the representative of
the State in the Centurion recognises
Christ for who he is; and Joseph of Arimathea,
a member of the Council of religious leaders, offers Christ his tomb.
There is only a
thin veil between what happened 2000 years ago and what is happening today - it
is hoped that through the casting, and through the emphasis on ‘state
authorities’ and ‘religious authorities’ rather than Roman and Jew there can be
a merging of 2000 years ago with the present time. Stewards who become soldiers ... and the part
played by hot cross buns all contribute to this thin veil.
It was Sara Jay
who pointed out to us in the very early stages of planning the wonderful
structure of a five act play. Although
only four acts are seen on Good Friday afternoon, it is very much a five act
play. The invitation is there for all to
receive to come back for the fifth act at 8-00 on Easter Sunday morning.
Our hope and
prayer is very much that through the presentation of our play The Message can
come home even more strongly as something of great relevance to us and our
world.
Copyright and Acknowledgements
The script of the
Cheltenham Passion Play is copyright © Richard
Cleaves , Highbury Congregational
Church , Cheltenham . Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright ©
by Eugene H.Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995.
Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. The New Revised Standard Version, copyright
1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the United States of America.
The Good News Bible © Bible Society
1976. The Baker © Nick Page. A special thank you to Sara Jay whose
Treatment for Cheltenham Passion Play 2000 has shaped the whole play ... and to
Daphne Philpott for editing the script.
Cast - Easter 2000
The Cheltenham Passion Play is built around
a small core cast of fifteen key characters, together with a large number of
comparatively small but important parts, and as many extras as possible. The core cast is made of Jesus and four quite
distinct groups. The followers of Jesus
are made up not just of the Disciples but also of a group of Women. Within each group there are four key people
with significant parts; within each group of four, there is one who ‘gets it
wrong’. The opponents of Jesus are made
up of two groups of three people. Again,
within each group of three one stands out this time in support of Jesus. The use of a small core cast in this way
makes the large scale production of the Passion Play manageable not only in
terms of the people involved ... but it also helps people to follow the action.
Jesus Matthew Medhurst.
The
Disciples.
Peter David Price
James Paul Kish
John David Lyle
Judas Peter Brown. Judas is given
quite a significant role from the beginning.
Whenever the text records dissent among the disciples, those words are
given to Judas. He therefore becomes the
voice of dissent among the disciples.
In
addition there are eight other Disciples
The Women
Mary, Jesus’mother Wendy Dawson
Mary Magdalene Chrisina Manuel
Woman of Samaria Debbie Hunt
Zebedee’s Wife Gail Harper. Of the women the mother of James and John is the one who ‘gets it
wrong’ wanting her sons to be at the top of the tree.
The
original intention was to have eight other women ... in the event we had
twenty-four women in all. At two key
moments from the Last Supper to the Garden
of Gethsemane and on the
Way of the Cross they present the Message at the heart of the play.
The Religious Leaders
Caiaphas Glyn Jenkins. URC Minister
Annas Ted Crofton, Rural Dean
Joseph of Arimathea Steve Osmond, Former
secretary of Churches Together in Cheltenham
Fundamental
to the message of the play is the fact that Jesus was condemned by the
Religious Leaders of his day. In our
play the Religious leaders of present day Cheltenham
took these parts. Within this group of
three one, Joseph of Arimathea, is, in
our play, from the outset sympathetic towards Jesus. This interpretation of Joseph Arimathea is
prompted by John’s reference to the fact that Joseph of Arimathea was a Member
of the CouncilThe Religious leaders are supported by servants and religious
guards. There were false witness in the
Trial scene and at the foot of the cross.
The Civic Leaders
Pilate Dave Banyard, the Mayor of Cheltenham
Herod Ken Brightwell, the Town Crier
The Centurion David Gibson
A
powerful part of the play was the involvement of the civic leaders of today’s Cheltenham in the parts of the Civic Leaders of Jesus’
day. Again, within this group of three,
one turns out in the end to be sympathetic towards Jesus, declaring in the
final words at the Cross the true identity of Jesus. The Civic Leaders were supported by Roman
Guards. Other small but important parts
included Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, the two criminals at the crucifixion.
Other Parts
Seven
scenes were presented by church groups ...
The Feeding of the 5000 St Luke’s Church This included providing Hot Cross Buns for
people to share at the very beginning.
One family with a little boy has a key part to play - he is the one who
provides the first five Hot Cross Buns ... later he provides the Hot Cross Bun
for Jesus to share at the Last Supper.
Parable of the Sower Elim
Cleansing of the Temple Cambray Baptist Church and St
Matthew’s This
included providing Hot Cross Buns for sale ... among the crowd was one little
girl, Emma Elliott, who recognises Jesus
for who he is.
Parable of the Vineyard Harvest Arts
The Crucifixion Prestbury Churches
The Gardeners Highbury
Congregational Church
Easter Breakfast The URC
in Cheltenham - St Andrew’s
Narrator Richard
Cleaves . The Narrator set the scene at the very beginning, when the Play
arrived at the High Street, and at the very end on Good Friday, anticipating
the return to the tomb on Easter Sunday.
In the Fifth Act, there was a more substantial involvement, leading the
worship which was an important part of Easter Sunday morning.