Remembering Good Fridays Re-Enactment of Our Lord's Passion

Walking to the starting line

As we contemplate a very different Good Friday to what we had planned, I wanted to share some photos from last year's Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion.
All the preparation and planning, organising actors, support crew, costumes, props and sets, liaising with the Monastery and Police and more - missing.
The organised chaos that grows and develops into the moment when I stand at the front of the crowd and start, "Welcome to this year's Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion!" - missing.
The last minute running around looking for a part of a costume or prop, my "volunteering" of a missing apostle or dragooning in of a new Woman of Jerusalem - missing.

Just a few spectators

The pre-play confession with one of the good fathers from the Monastery, ensuring we are all in the right frame - missing.
The laughter and nervousness as actors are preparing their lines and hoping they don't forget their cue. 'Don't worry," I say, "The crowd doesn't have a script, just move on!" - missing.
The surprise of all the new participants - actors and crew - when they see the crowd growing and growing and realise this is much bigger than they thought - missing.
The knowing smiles of actors and crew that have done this before as the adrenaline starts to grow and the starting time is about to arrive - missing.

"So, this is Judas?"

Microphone runners, walking

The application of costumes by our lovely costumers and then waiting around in our groups of Romans, Apostles, Jews and others. - missing.
The testing of microphones and making sure everyone gets the right microphone at the right time - missing.
The lovely coffee and cake provided by Snax on Tracks before we start - missing.
The full on rush everyone experiences as the play progresses despite any mis-steps - missing.
The exhilaration as the play ends with the final blessing from Father Damien - missing.

Accusers of Jesus

"Why do you bring him before me?"

Crowning of thorns. Ow.

But - what is not missing is the sacrifice of Jesus on Good Friday and our remembrance of its importance. When we listened to the readings on Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday, we could see the corresponding scenes from the play over the years.
We are doing a read through at home of the play today, with everyone in the family taking on multiple roles.
We want to wish you all a most holy and safe Easter 2020. Enjoy this time with your family and join your prayers with ours in thanksgiving for all the wonderful things Our Lord has given us.

"YOU! Carry his cross!"

You can get all the resources from this post.

"My son!"

The gang's all here.

Preparing for Good Friday 2020

Accompanying Jesus and the Cross

With the restrictions in place to reduce the spread of the Corona Virus, and our Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion cancelled and public attendance and Masses stopped, this is the Lentiest Lent we have ever Lented.
After listening to the readings at Palm Sunday today and seeing all of our great actors playing and reading the roles, I thought I would share our resources so you can prepare for Good Friday using the play as a basis.

The Script

Recognising the various options technology brings us we now have the script in ePub and PDF formats. ePub is great for reading on your phone or tablet. It has chapter headings for each scene, you can search and add bookmarks. You can also change the font size to suit differing eye strengths! The PDF is formatted for printing to A4.
Script - ePub version
Script - PDF version

Sources for the Script:

1. Primary source is the Scriptures, naturally. A great book is "The Gospel Story" for Ronald Cox and Ronald Knox which brings together the new testament in sequential order, combining all four gospels into one in an excellent English translation. Each section also has notes to aid in understanding. The book is out of print but I have converted it to an ePub which you can download here: The Gospel Story.
2. Additional ideas regarding Pontius Pilate and Claudia derive from "Christ or Barrabas" by Danial A Lord SJ (1958). Great short story providing background and a good tale to share. Christ or Barrabas (ePub) or Christ or Barrabas (PDF).
3. Past plays and tradition. So many actors and directors have added great faithful parts to the play which are consistent with scripture and they are incorporated in the play. After all, this is a "people's play" and the great variety of faithful contributors make our play a great experience.

Re-enactment of Our Lord's passion - The audio book!

In October we gathered a number of actors and the priests from the Monastery and made an audio recording of the play. The length is just under an hour and covers the complete script. This makes for an easier method of remembering our lines. You can have the m4a version which is an iTunes Audiobook, or you can download the zip file of the MP3 format files. Each scene is a separate chapter.

iTunes Audiobook (Via Dropbox)
MP3 zip file (Via Dropbox)

There you go. Offer up this time for all this suffering from the virus and the economic crisis we are experiencing in our efforts to fight it.