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This is Our
Story
Photos with thanks to
Liverpool Cathedral
ON Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday evenings during Holy Week (25 March, 26 March and 27 March
2013), Liverpool Cathedral was the scene of a very poignant
portrayal of Christ's Passion, in a set of three plays. These
passion plays, subtitled 'This is Our Story', were
produced by the Overcrofters, Liverpool Cathedral's youth group. The
cast comprised volunteers, members of the choir and clergy,
including some very senior ones who played Jesus' disciples in
Tuesday's session. The congregation were also involved at times. The
plays were skilfully written by Daniel Bishop, Associate Organist at
the Cathedral, and Mark Lovelady, who is Head of English at Glenburn
Sports College, Skelmersdale and also a member of Holy Trinity,
Southport's, choir. He has various other roles within the Cathedral
too, including being Youth Leader of the Overcrofters. The original
music was written by Daniel Bishop, Phil Glenny, Ian Tracey and
Nicholas Tudor.
Mark said:- "As a teacher I am very aware that young people
receive confusing messages about life. They see imagery of violence,
pain and disease every single day. The Passion story is an
unchangeable truth. Even young people who don't feel a connection to
established religion can understand the themes explored in the play
such as love, life, death, betrayal, kindness, resentment and envy.
It's a story of a man who believed in something more than the world
he lived in. Through a gentle wisdom, he wanted to bring hope to
people. I've thoroughly enjoyed working on the Passion Play. Working
with a dedicated group of young people shows that this story
really is still relevant in the 21st Century!"
Dan added:- "The Liverpool Passion Plays are a reflection of
the faith of our young people, the Overcrofters, who have researched
and helped write and produce the script to an extremely high
standard. That is why we are using the words, 'This is our story';
Christ's Passion is everyone's story, and these plays are a chance
to experience being part of the crowd that welcomes Christ into
Jerusalem, that witnesses his crucifixion and that gains a sense of
hope from his resurrection. It will be a very visceral performance
that also feeds off the audience and draws them in to the action at
close range. The tone has been very carefully considered for each
performance and the music, script and words from the liturgy are
being carefully worked together to make links between Christ's
suffering and resurrection and what that means for us today."
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Throughout, the plays thoughtfully portrayed short scenes which gave
an insight into Jesus' life including things which led up to the
Last Supper, His Trial and Crucifixion. Then the story was extended
to beyond, in a very moving scene involving his mourning mother,
Mary, perceiving Hope for the future in his life and death on the
cross. The plays were enacted at various settings across the
Cathedral space, with the congregation following Jesus around to
each scene and becoming involved with the action. The dialogue was
clear, well articulated and suited to the wide age range of the
cast. The youngsters were obviously very passionate about the theme,
and props were minimal and very effective: all this helped these
plays to be so meaningful and thought provoking. As to be expected,
the Wednesday re-enactment of the Crucifixion was very emotive, and
the organ came into its own in setting the scene, as the
congregation faced Christ's suffering, anguish and death, leaving
the congregation pondered its significance both then and also what
it means in our lives today:- 'Our Story'.
Monday and Tuesday's congregations were around 250 to 300 each night
and Wednesday's was higher. It was a very inspiring
start to Easter for all. |
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The Dean of Liverpool The Very Revd. Dr Pete Wilcox said:-
"I felt so proud, not just that we have the resources to achieve
such powerful drama pretty much entirely within a home team, but
that the contributors have done so freely, so that the audience
could come and see the plays for free. Right at the heart of the
Christian faith lies the conviction that our salvation is to be
found in the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Remembering
those events is what Holy Week is about, and these plays have
provided a fresh and powerful way for us to look again at the
gospels and to tell each other 'This is our story'. The Cathedral
Chapter were honoured to have been asked to take on the role of the
disciples - it is our privilege to lead and help others grow in
their own discipleship, and we also wanted to recognise the work put
in by everyone involved, especially the Cathedral youth group The
Overcrofters, who produced the plays. The Last Supper scene also has
a strong resonance for the Cathedral with the launch of the Hope
Foodbank last week. We are delighted by the response to the plays
and I think that this could be the start of a tradition. The
Liverpool Passion Plays have the subtitle 'This is Our Story', and
this has been true in both planning and the performance. It really
has been a shared experience. The actors and crew, musicians, the
regular congregation and those visiting just for the plays have
moved together as one around the spaces of the Cathedral and even
become part of some very moving scenes."
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For times and details of Liverpool Cathedral Services and other
information like the Liverpool Cathedral's Youth Group, The
Overcrofters click on
here.
There will also be an organ
recital at the Cathedral on Easter Monday, 1 April, at 11.15am.
Given on this magnificent organ by the renowned Professor Ian
Tracey, it is, as usual, sure to be a thrilling performance.
General information about passion plays, kindly supplied by
Liverpool Cathedral About Passion Plays Passion Plays have their
roots in the Quem Quaeritis (whom do you seek?) Easter liturgy, the
Visitatio Sepulchri (visit to the tomb) liturgical dramas and the
medieval mystery cycle plays. The Quem Quaeritis tradition comes
from the tenth century, when church choirs would re-enact through
song the conversation between the three Marys and the angel at
Christ's tomb on Easter Sunday.
Mystery plays were originally performed on the streets on the feast
of Corpus Christi (the feast of the Body of Christ) and depicted the
whole of salvation history up to the last judgement. York and
Chester have surviving mystery cycles which are still performed
today.
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Mystery plays were performed and produced by guilds or other groups
in the local community. The Liverpool Passion Plays are bringing
together the traditions of both church drama and the mystery plays
in that they are being produced by the Overcrofters, the Cathedral's
own youth group, in collaboration with the Cathedral's music
department. The cast will be made up of the Overcrofters and members
of the Cathedral congregation, and the plays will feature the
refrain, 'This is our story' to reflect this important
community aspect.
The performances also include new music specially composed for parts
of the story. |
