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| Joseph of Aramathea |
Jesus is the centre of the action, but each of the supporting actors highlight an aspect of all those who were impacted one way or another at that time.
Joseph of Aramathea had the courage at the end to ask Pontius Pilate if he could have the body of Jesus, to bury Him in his personal crypt. Considering he was an important man in the faith, he put much at risk to do this. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the member of the Sanhedrin that met Jesus at night to discuss matters of the faith.
Often the actors who play Joseph and Nicodemus also play the parts of apostles at the start of the play. They are able to gain a little insight into the joy of apparent victory on Palm Sunday, followed by the sadness of the Last Supper and despair at their lack of courage when put to the test at the arrest of Jesus.
Then they see the end of the day with a different perspective of the death of Jesus and standing up by those who were in positions of Authority and risked a lot.
We also have Simon of Cyrene, with his two children Alexander and Rufus.
Visiting Jerusalem for the feast, Simon is "volunteered" from the crowd by the Centurion to help Jesus carry the cross.
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| Simon of Cyrene helping with the Cross |
He carries the cross the rest of the journey with Jesus when he is finally able to rejoin his children and watch the sacrifice of "the lamb".
Consider when watching Simon how it would feel to be associated with a criminal, yet seeing Jesus up close bearing the suffering with the last of His diminishing strength.
We then can think of the relief as Simon is rejoined with his children.
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| Women of Jerusalem approach Jesus |
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| Don't weep for me, Women of Jerusalem |
During the Way of the Cross they are specifically mentioned as meeting Jesus when he tells them, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but rather for yourselves and your children."
And there they all are, weeping.
We normally have many women of all ages able to take part as Women of Jerusalem. They are important so we have many costumes. We need them to cheer, accuse, jeer and weep. As part of the crowd in front of Pontius Pilate they call for Barrabas and crucifixion.
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| Veronica using her veil |
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| The Good and Bad thief leading the way of the Cross |
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| He is an innocent man, Pontius! |
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| Claudia watching the proceedings |
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| Servants accusing St Peter |
That's an emotional roller coaster, especially when you ponder what must have happened during the real events of Good Friday!
Veronica and her daughters are ready to meet Jesus during the Way of the Cross. She approaches Jesus during a break in the crowd caused by a scuffle between the Roman soldiers and the Temple Guards (again!).
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| Judas entering the Garden to greet Jesus |
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| The Last Supper with 12 apostles |
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| Healing Bartimaeus |
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| The apostles with Jesus |
She wipes the face of Jesus with her veil and the face of Jesus is imprinted on the veil (and can still be seen today).
That's an amazing gift Jesus left with us for an act of kindness by a stranger that watched his gruelling march carrying the cross to his crucifixion.
The good and bad thieves get the fun of being whipped and pushed around as they stagger towards their own crucifixions on the right and left of Jesus.
When we have larger crowds, they have a grand old time with the Roman Soldiers "encouraging" them to keep moving.
Then at the end, they get their lines, one ridiculing Jesus and the other defending him and asking Jesus to take the criminal to his kingdom.
This year our good thief really pulled out the emotions and did an amazing performance of grief and petition.
Claudia and her handmaid are with Pontius Pilate and at the end at the crucifixion, with Claudia doing her best to support Pontius doing the right thing.
It is an important part as it explains to the listening crowd the thoughts and situation in which Pontius Pilate finds himself. It is not easy to do the right thing when everything and everyone is conspiring against you.
The accusing servants have an important role pushing St Peter into standing for what he has claimed he would do to Jesus. Yet as Jesus explained to him, before the second cock crow, he would deny Jesus three times.
Judas this year had very short notice (one day) as our regular actor who plays Judas and Barrabas had to attend a family medical emergency.
As the fellow playing Judas told us, it was quite powerful playing Judas as he had to look Jesus in the eye when he was told to "Be quick on your errand", knowing that Jesus knew exactly what he was to do.
And then he again had to look into Jesus' eyes as Jesus said, "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"
We always seem to have a challenge getting our complete 12 apostles. A number get "volunteered" on the day to be a follower of Jesus - for the first few scenes at least!
Thank you to all of our apostles.
Seeing Jesus with you all around him brings this part of the Re-enactment to life.
Bartimaeus is played by the same fellow who played the bad thief. When we have the normal large crowds, many of the crowd are surprised that this fellow in costume who had been begging from them moments before, gets called to Jesus, who heals his sight!
They thought he was just another alms collector acting very well!
Thank you to all our actors wth roles big and small. Together the 50 or so actors all combine to form a marvellous whole, enabling participants and observers the chance to immerse themselves into a re-enactment of Good Friday.
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