Passion Plays 2012

[Caballo]

Heres Leicester, with frater Crispus looking a very impressive centurion and interviewed at 2.34.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Caa-9o9HS0Y

[66kbm]

Impressive....as for Crispus...looking good, as allways.
As far as i know there are several of these that happen around the country in various forms. Good example is Bury St Edmonds in 2011.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqU1RsVpETQ....i presume it happened this year.
As a LEGIO II AVG member we did a march at Silchester. This years bloody cold pics here...
http://www.silchesterlife.org/palm2012/
The Romans seem to get involved in all sorts of religious "dooos" nowadays...i dont mind at all.
Kevin

[66kbm]

seems the link didnt post
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqU1RsVpETQ

[Charlie]

Both of the clips are great, and it is good to see that these events are still been performed around the world. In fact my Church last week held what we call His story (story of Christ)here in {Port Macquarie, Australia over 3 nights and we get a lot of people passing through.
I have encouraged the guys who have been playing the Roman soldiers to get a simple but better kit together for next year. I will finally get envolved again with my centurion kit next year. If you are able to be part of such an event I encourage you to do so as it is a real blessing and wonderful experience.
Looking great Crispus!

[Gaius Colletti]

Very nice Crispus, it is very cool that you guys do things like this. Sadly in America it seems that Easter is becoming less and less of an important holiday, despite it being the most important Christian holiday.

My place a business, a grocery store which has for the last 3 years only staffed two people in my department for half day shifts, has instead treated this Easter like every other Sunday, being fully staffed for the entire day. As I was driving to my grandmother's for dinner, I was amazed how full Walmart and Meijer's parking lots were. People really should observe Easter instead of treating it like a "Hallmark Holiday"

[katsika]

I wholeheartedly agree, Matt. It is so very sad to see what we Christians view as the "spirit of antichrist" pervading our country's moral standards so deeply. I could get VERY political and controversial right now, but to what end? It is very refreshing to see a well done, high calibre presentation such as this, and if the "Mayan calendar thing" doesn't get us all this year :roll: I hope your next year's play is done with just as much dignity and class as this one was. εύγε!

[M. Demetrius]

Matt, Katsika, I agree with you. This attitude is all very predictable, though. It's not easy for salmon to get upstream, but we need to put in the effort, just like they do...and for the same reasons. If we don't, we'll become another historical footnote, and our minority will continue to grow smaller and less influential.

[caiusbeerquitius]

Is this a modern religion topic? hock:

[katsika]

See what I mean? :wink:

[Quintius Clavus]

Crispus, you look good-impressive-as the Centurion!

I participate in a couple different things like this. At my church we did a short performance of the Passion narrative in the Gospel of St. Matthew on Palm Sunday at the end of the service. I portrayed the centurion and kitted up one other soldier (this year one of our tall 13 year olds). They appreciate having a Roman reenactor as part of the congregation.
Then, for a Catholic Church in Massachusetts, a group of us provide a live Stations of the Cross, which we have been doing for several years and is always appreciated. My picture got into the local newspaper the first year we did it.

Next weekend, I'll be at Yale University for a conference on the Romano-Persian god, Mithras. I also use it as a chance to do research on many aspects of the Roman army at a world-class University library - with photocopy card in hand!

[Caballo]

Katsike, it's just that discussion on modern religion ( and politics, and other subjects where people have strong feelings ) are against the rules of the forum. That applies to all religions, and is just to avoid arguments flaring up.

As it happens, I'm a big supporter of Passon Plays and participate in the bi annual Bury St Edmunds Passion play.

[katsika]

Agreed - like I said in my earlier post (words to the effect) I could get really political - but didn't (not really!) :wink:

[Crispvs]

Frater Caballo, thanks for posting the link to the video and thank you also to everyone else for your kind compliments.

The 'Christ in the Centre' passion play has been performed in Leicester for ten years now. Weekly rehearsals for this year's play began in early January, following initial casting sessions in September and I am sure the organising committee will already have met by now to begin planning for next year's play. Although I missed the second year I have been involved to an increasing degree in all of the other nine.
Originally several of us from the RMRS became involved due to a request from the organiser for Roman soldiers to help out in what was originally intended to be a one-off event, having found our website when wondering what she was going to do about soldiers for the trial and crucifixion scenes. For the next few years several of us traveled through to Leicester each year but as more passion plays began to be organised around the country requests stared to come in from other plays, particularly St Neots and Bury St Edmunds which eventually led to the RMRS as a whole taking on the Bury St Edmunds play as a regular event. Partly because of this I ended up being the only one to retain the association with the Leicester play and found myself taking on the role of centurion and becoming a full member of the cast, as well as trying to mould willing volunteers into people who can look and act like soldiers and supply them with equipment to use. Partly because I find it somewhat embarrassing to ask friends to lend their equipment to me so I can equip cast members and partly because I cannot guarantee to be around forever, for the last couple of years I have been attempting to produce reasonably accurate looking kit for the soldiers and guards which can become the property of the event's wardrobe. So far that has taken the form of six clipeii, seven wooden headed spears, four conical helmets for Jewish guards, four small round shields for Jewish guards and a pair of large knives for the use of those portraying the apostles during the arrest scene, as well as several bits and pieces for myself in order to better portray a centurio. In addition to that, last year the wardrobe mistress ran up a number of tunics more or less to the specifications I had supplied. My intention is to supply belts and swords for next year, and possibly helmets if I can work out a good way to economically produce something that looks reasonably accurate.

Each year's play differs somewhat from those of previous years, meaning that it feels 'fresh' every year. In some years there have been two stages separated by several streets, with the first and sometimes second act being performed on one stage before the play processes to the other stage. Sometimes this procession has been a joyous Palm Sunday procession into Jerusalem while at other times, when the trial scenes have been performed on the first stage, it has been a procession of the actor portraying Christ carrying the cross to the second stage which in that case will represent Calvary, harangued by the accompanying soldiers through the streets. On other occasions there has only been one stage and all acts have been performed on that stage. The detail also changes from year to year as well. One year the first act was concerned with demonstrating the lives of people who have suffered for their faith over the last century. Another year the first act put a modern day spin on several of the parables. Last year act one consisted of a series of vignettes of Old Testament episodes which are reflected in the New Testament. This year the plan was for the first act to be replaced with 'flash mobs' who would suddenly break into song from amongst bodies of shoppers and sightseers before gathering into choirs which would then process towards the performance stage. Unfortunately the flash mobs were unable to go into action as regulations mean that such an undertaking must be accompanied by a specified number of marshals who can act to safeguard the procession and deal with questions from curious passers by. As Easter fell in the middle of school holidays this year, large numbers of people who might otherwise have been involved were away and so there were not enough marshals to allow the choirs to undertake their procession.
Sometimes the procession between the stages (in years when there have been two stages that is) has counted as the second (or sometimes third) act. In some years episodes such as the arrest of Barabbas have been reconstructed, while in other years there has been a strict adherence to using only what is specifically mentioned in the Gospels.

Another short report on this year's play can be found here:
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Th...story.html

Photos of this year's play can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/philipjvern...754927083/

And here:
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/pi...tures.html

Photos from previous years can be found here:
http://www.felthamassociates.btinternet....photos.htm

Further details can be found here:
http://citc.dioceseofleicester.com/


Katsika,
Don't worry - you are not alone. As someone who derives part of my income from writing on socio-political matters, as well as being a member of a parochial church council and a deanery synod representative, I also often have to watch myself carefully when writing RAT posts in threads which come close to stretching the very sensible, if occasionally frustrating, RAT rules.

Crispvs

[katsika]

I appreciate the "persecution empathy" :wink: - but, I'm a big boy and can take anything anyone can dish out - and even though I'm known here as "Goat," I am really a sheep - I'm on the winning side! :grin:

[M. Demetrius]

Crispvs, did the edging work for you as suggested? I couldn't tell from the video clip.