Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion

2025 - The People of Jerusalem

The people of Jerusalem are the target of the whole drama of the Passion of Jesus. He is going through all this to save them and us. All of these smaller roles are important to give us a glimpse into the ultimate end goal of this re-enactment. The people of Jerusalem include the women, children and men that while not having major speaking roles or only appearing in one scene, they add the context we need.

Many of these women and children were part of the play for the first time. A lot of them had no idea they would actually be in the play when they got into their car for the drive down to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy!

The first scene for the people is the entry of Jesus and his disciples into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They get to wave large palm branches and cry "Alleluia!" and so on.

A little later, some of the people accuse Peter of being one of the disciples of Jesus. As they follow Peter around the courtyard, he denies Jesus three times before the cock crowed the second time.

Simon of Cyrene was just visiting Jerusalem with his two children. He was "volunteered" by the Roman soldiers to assist Jesus carry His cross.

This year, the actor playing Simon of Cyrene was also "volunteered" when I was informed 20 minutes before the play began that the fellow who had confirmed his attendance wouldn't be coming after I called him to see where he was.

Our volunteer did an excellent job helping Jesus carry his cross, despite their height differences!

Veronica met Jesus along the Way of the Cross. When the soldiers were distracted by a clash at the rear of the procession and the two criminals made an escape attempt at the front, Veronica stepped into the gap and was able to wipe the face of Jesus with her cloth.

A short while later, Jesus meets the Women of Jerusalem and consoles them telling them to not weep for Him.

Finally, the people of Jerusalem are at the foot of the cross, completing their journey from the start with praise to the end with sorrow, but hope of a glorious new beginning on Easter Sunday.

I would like to thank all of the actors who joined us this year. Hopefully many will be able to join us next year and be part of the preparation in the weeks before the play to get an even greater participation in the Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion!

2025 - Pontius Pilate and the Roman team

Pontius Pilate is supported by his wife, Claudia, with her servant, and his servants. He has the tough job of keeping peace in Judea, despite the belligerence of the population and their troublemaking priests and officials. He has already had to put down a number of uprisings and has been warned by Caesar to not have any more trouble. Into this uneasy calm steps Jesus and all that forebodes.

Pontius Pilate and his wife and entourage.

The servants job is to bring Pontius Pilate his water and jug when he decides to wash his hands of the whole affair, and lead the procession to the Crucifixion.

Claudia has an important role warning Pontius to have nothing to do with Jesus. She pleads with him not to convict an innocent man or he will be remembered for generations afterwards as the one responsible.

This was Claudia's first year in the play and she did an excellent job.

Caiaphus and the high priests bring Jesus to Pilate, who tries three time to avoid condemning Jesus to death.

His first attempt is to send Jesus and His accusers to Herod, as Jesus was a Galilean and therefore not in Pilate's jurisdiction.

Second, he offered to release Jesus, or that terrible criminal Barrabas. But the crowd chose the criminal to go free.

Lastly he tried to just have Jesus scourged, but not killed.

In the end, to keep the peace, he succumbed to Caiaphus and condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion.

The way of the cross is led by the Roman servant lads. The smallest boy has a tray carrying a hammer and nails. Behind the boys, the Roman soldiers prod Jesus forwards, with the Temple Guards, Caiaphus and the High Priests goading them from behind.

At the end, Pilate with his entourage, watch the final stages following his decision. He tells Caiaphus that the sign above Jesus will stay as it is, announcing the man on the cross as "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews".

He also allows Joseph of Aramathea to have the body and gives Caiaphus some guards to defend the tomb.

This is another pivotal group drawn into the swirling eddies of Jesus' mission.

2025 - Roman Soldiers

The Roman Soldiers have a busy role too. Besides providing a very imposing force projecting the might of Rome, they also have to deal with the unruly crowd and the wily Caiaphus and his minions.

This year we had a number of new Roman Soldiers. Two of them volunteered on the day of the play! I am sure they never imagined when they left home on Friday morning to watch the play that they would have not only have front row positions, but would be inside the action. That's what we call an immersive experience.

All the soldiers took part in the introductory safety briefings. As you have seen, there is a lot of action happening with lots of pushing and shoving and equipment interactions.

Our actor playing the Optio Marcus has his own excellent historical costume. His back story is he is newly sent from Rome and still has his full gear. The soldiers who have been here longer have gear that has been tested in many battles and general day to day work among a hostile, subdued populace.

Their initial role is guarding Pilate's palace, keeping the locals at a distance from the governor of the conquered territories of Judea.

They are responsible for administering Roman justice, in this case the scourging. Despite being instructed to scourge Jesus, but not kill him, they go a bit overboard and exceed instructions, including the mocking and crowning with thorns.

The Centurion was not happy to see the results, especially after being reprimanded by Pontius Pilate.

The Way of the Cross is both a long way and a quick time. They are pressed on all sides by the road and heckled by the Temple Guards and High Priests. We do try to explain the impact of thousands of people actively pressing to get a better view, but experiencing this is quite confronting.

Our new Roman Soldiers did an excellent job! They all maintained their composure and fell int their roles really well. Each one showed different personalities and responses.

The initial briefings and practices helped when push came to shove. Lots of pushing and shoving!

The metal bosses on the shields clashed with lovely loud bangs and clangs. The soldiers and guards gents and shouts added to the atmosphere.

The relative quiet as Jesus is placed on the cross provided a strange interlude, a short time for reflection as to what was happening.

All the soldiers were required to lift the cross. Many soldiers already had splashes of blood on their faces and hands (specially made by a local).

The sign on the Cross read "Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews" in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. This was made as a little project of a priest and brother of the Pauline Fathers.

The soldiers' final duty was carrying the body of Jesus to the tomb, past the crowd of silent onlookers.

I am always impressed how each actor quickly acclimatises to their role. We have a script which covers the speaking lines and main action. But we also have a lot of room for customisation and personalisation by the actors to make the role their own.

2025 - Temple Guards

The Temple Guards have a simple mission. Protect Caiaphus and the High Priests and Scribe, and follow their commands. They have been given authority of the Temple and maintain local laws on behalf of the ruling priests while under the watchful eye of the Roman conquerors.

It is a brave decision to join the Temple Guards on the day of the play. A quick costume fitting, then safety briefing and run down of where they will go with their fellow guards.

All while being watched by thousands of spectators.

The Temple Guard Captain is an experienced actor in the play, having performed many different roles over the years. His job is to take the lead of his men as they protect the priests and follow their orders to sort out the trouble-maker, Jesus.

The recruit gets to explain to Caiaphus that the arrest was delayed and keep the crowd back at the front gate, confronting an angry Mary Magdalene.

The arrest in the garden goes messy when Peter leaps into action. One guard takes on John and James, while Peter attacks Malchus.

Malchus, the second in command, gets his ear cut off in the scuffle, then is heard by Jesus.

Jesus is brought to Caiaphus and the Sanhedrin, bound and beaten after the arrest.

The Captain and second in command beat up Jesus for showing disrespect to Caiaphus. (At this point there were audible gasps from the crowd as this had been rehearsed a number of times. No one was hurt, but it looked pretty realistic!)

After the verdict of "Blasphemy!", Jesus is taken by the guards and priests to see Pontius Pilate.

The Romans stood guard, protecting the separation of state and temple. It was a nervous peace as there had already been multiple riots over the last few years and Pilate did not want any more riots.

After the verdict of death by crucifixion, the temple guards follow behind the procession, continually clashing with the guards while keeping any danger away from them.

The team of Temple Guards work together well. There is a lot of ad-libbing the insults and "encouragement" of the Way of the Cross, as well as plenty of physical activity interacting with Jesus and the Romans.

2025 - The Centurion's Journey

The Centurion has a very busy role. He is in charge of the Roman soldiers, is the key liaison to communicate and enact Pontius Pilate's orders and is responsible for ensuring the actors playing Roman Soldiers and Temple Guards understand the safest way to participate in the various scuffles and fights that break out during the Way of the Cross.

Here he is before the play, once more going through the safety briefing, explaining what happens, what to avoid and how to slam those shields together to get the best effect with least bruises and scrapes.

The Centurion's first appearance is with his second in command, the Optio Marcus, and the High Priests, Scribe and Temple Guards preparing for the arrest of Jesus.

Once the arrest happens, he tells the Optio they have to report to Pontius Plate as he fears the arrest means trouble.

He listens and observes as Caiaphus and Pontius Pilate have their battle of wits, with Caiphus trying to get Pilate to condemn Jesus to death. The Centurion knows that whatever happens, he and his men will be in the thick of the trouble that arises.

Once the scourging has completed and Jesus is condemned to death by crucifixion, he has to guard the procession through a troubled city, taunted by Caiaphus and his associates.

He can see that this is unjust and is troubled by what he is experiencing.

More and more incidents accumulate along the way, reinforcing his concerns.

The Centurion gets more and more agitated and forceful with the agitators riling up the crowd and the pushy temple guards and High Priests.

He frequently calls halts to allow Jesus to make it all the way to the end.

After the third fall of Jesus, the Centurion helps Jesus up and gives some encouragement, admonishing his more enthusiastic soldiers to reduce the aggressiveness to the prisoner.

After Jesus has died on the Cross, and the earth shook and sky was darkened, the Centurion realises this man was not just another criminal. He pronounces, "Truly, this man was the Son of God."

He is there with Joseph of Aramethea, confirming the death of Jesus.

Then he helps with the taking down of Jesus from the cross.

His final act is leading the stretcher bearers, carrying Jesus to the tomb.

The Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion has a number of these interesting character arcs flowing through the 26 scenes of the play. Every year we have a different mix of actors playing the various roles, and each one brings their own understanding to their role, allowing for every year to be the same - but different - enhancing the immersive experience.

2025 - Mary's support of Jesus

We had a new lady play Mary in this year's Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion. She did an excellent performance! There is always immense pressure playing such a popular role and this year the over 8,000 visitors were able to see Mary support Jesus in His Passion.

Mary's first appearance is watching the trial of Jesus before Caiaphus and the Sanhedrin. She sees Jesus getting abused and falsely accused, and then the denial of Jesus by Peter.

As Peter's gaze meets Jesus, Peter turns away, spotting Mary and coming for an embrace, before running away.

We next see Mary watching Jesus get scourged and taken away to be judged by Pontius Pilate.

She meets Claudia after Claudia's impassioned plea to Pilate to have nothing to do with Jesus and not have innocent blood on their hands.

Mary then encounters Jesus near the start of the Way of the Cross.

A great crowd is watching as Jesus carries his cross to Golgotha and his Crucifixion.

Mary can only watch as her Son willingly carries His burden.

She is present at the foot of the Cross with St John, Mary Magdalene and Mary, wife of Cleophas.

Joseph of Aramethea and Nicodemus join them to claim the body.

Mary can only watch on and pray with us.

Well done to our fine actress! We look forward to future plays where we get to join together and immerse ourselves in the Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion every Good Friday.

Now is a great time to join in

Wondering what to do for Lent?

Immerse yourself in the Passion by taking part in this year's Re-enactment of Our Lord's Passion.