2022 Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion Video is here

 After quite a bit of work the videographers have compiled the video and sound into a lovely video.

The return of the large number of followers took the videographers by surprise as it did so many of our cast and crew after the cancelled play in 2020 and the very reduced numbers last year. It is quite difficult to be in the best position when you are surrounded by over 1,500 people all trying to get a look too.

But you will see the excellent work done by all the actors. There are a lot of lines for everyone to remember and it is excellent to see the interactions of around 70 different roles and their relationship to Jesus and each other - especially this year with the crowd!

We trust this video and the photos serve as a great reminder of the immersive experience you have all had in this year's re-enactment.

2022 - Upgrading of props and sets

Peter arisen after his luxury transport

The Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion at the Shrine of Divine mercy has been performed for a great many years and we hope for many more. Understanding that the play has been of so much help for so many people, we have implemented a number of items to make it easier each year.

One of the improvements has been upgrading many of the props and sets to ensure the safety of all cast, crew and pilgrims.

This year we were able to make two major upgrades. 

Firstly we had a family friend build us a stretcher to carry Jesus from the Cross to the Tomb. This had to be safe and allow for a number of guards to be able to carry the stretcher and for Jesus to not only be safe, but feel safe too.

The new stretcher was made from some very sturdy recycled timber plus plenty of crossed-over rope. On the day this is covered with a hessian cover (which is being washed) and the result is a great new stretcher which is strong enough to last for many more years.

Our Clever Carpenter

Scourging at the pillar on a very stable platform

Carried in style

We have also been searching for a new option for the scourging stage for a number of years now. It is not easy to satisfy the requirements:

1. Safety - it has to be strong enough to hold 3 strong lads doing strenuous activity (Romans scourging Jesus)
2. Height - It needs to be high enough so the pilgrims can see what is happening
3. Stability - It needs to not move when in use, but be able to be dismantled for storage and transport
4. Non slip - there is plenty of fake blood and real sweat that spreads on the platform. We need to minimise the slipperiness, but have enough still there to be wiped up.
5. Agelessness - this is supposed to be plausibly appropriate for 1st century Jerusalem
6. Strength - we do not want to have to replace or upgrade or maintain it every year.
7. Slopes - the brick area on which the scourging stage is set is on a slope. So the platform has to be horizontal, while the ground slopes at a reasonable angle. A standard table or platform wouldn't work. It had to be custom.

So this year we engaged our local clever carpenter to build it for us. It is not inexpensive, but it matches all the above criteria. Also, this week the carpenter built approprate steps and marked all the points with numbers to allow for easier re-assembly next year. We will be able to flat pack the stage and store it and safely put it back together next year.

Here you can see the stage in action on Good Friday. The Scourgers and Jesus commented this was the most stable stage they had experienced. They felt much safer performing the scene not having to split their attention with not slipping or holding because the stage might wobble.

Thanks to our carpenter who was able to cleverly interpret the requirements from Ariel and myself and get the job done in time for the play.

2022 - Getting Ready

After a couple of challenging years (cancelled in 2020 and very limited number in 2021) we were able to have a better crowd this year. We had 1,500 ticketed entrants, plus around 100 cast and crew at the Re-enactment of our Lord's Passion this year.

There was a great deal of sewing by Lana and Clare using many metres of cloth and many hours sitting at sewing machines and cutting the pieces with help from Ariel, Rose and Dorothy.

The costumes are more durable and each group has more consistency between each member.

All speaking roles attended the Read Through four weeks before Good Friday, then everyone attended the Dress Rehearsal two weeks before and then we had Good Friday.

Now on the day it was a matter of putting on the costumes and assisting each other with the final touches.

While waiting for the start at 11am, everyone chatted amongst each other wth some nerves as more and more people started arriving through the front gate.

We asked the photographer to capture more of the before and after times so all the cast and crew could get some good memories of their time at the Re-enactment - both before, during and after the main event.

There is a lot of walking around ensuring all the props ae at the right lace before the Re-enactment begins.