This is just a possibility at the moment, but...Anyone interested in being a Roman at next year's Cambridge Passion Play, sign up here. I suspect that, if you come from abroad, the organisers will arrange food and board for you. A potential opportunity to visit our historic city and do some re-enacting along the Via. This will be a first for Cambridge, in modern times.
Passion plays are one of the oldest forms of Easter celbration and street theatre in Britain, Dating back to medieval times they were held as an act of devotion. They all but disapeared in most modern cities but have had a renaissance over the last few years and many Roman reenactors are getting involved.
http://www.romanarmy.nl/rat/viewtopic.p ... 840d55ce55
shows our recent discussion about events the RMRS have been involved in.
Paula, we have a number of members in the Cambridge area but many are semi comitted to the Bury St Edmunds event, Likewise for me at the Leicester gig. It might be worth suggesting to the organisers that they make a formal approach to one of the various groups rather than leaving it ad hoc.
I split off the rest of this thread to an OT topic.
Quote:I split off the rest of this thread to an OT topic.
Good move.
Quote:Paula, we have...
That's fighting talk where I come from. :wink:
thanks for the direct answer Maximio!
To be honest I have only heard of the easter event called a passion anything when the recent Gibson movie came out.
Excuse my ignorence all!
Would like to say it would be fun, but am a bit out of the way to commit to anything like that.
Great idea! Can you let me know who exactly would like to be involved, please?
May the Lamb who was slain heap blessings on your efforts on His behalf.
I had no idea that they still did Passion plays in England, I thought they stopped hundreds of years ago.
Well done to all involved, it looks spectacular.
The only 'modern' one I knew of was at Oberammegau.
Oberammegau
Quote:I had no idea that they still did Passion plays in England, I thought they stopped hundreds of years ago.
There used to be one every year in Chester when I was a lad (not quite hundreds of years ago). Much to the amusement (and joy) of any American tourists who happened to be there that particular week. It tended to be a "private thing" generally done by the local churches.
When I moved to the Midlands at the begining of the 80's I was really pleased to find one in Coventry done in the grounds of the old cathedral. Far more "showy" and done in the evenings over a week rather than just on Good Friday it was never the less good to see old traditions still continuing.
The saddest thing about this years play in Leicester was when myself and the other soldiers had done our bit we retired off stage and whilst waiting to depart with the rest of the cast we were approached by several passers by. Cripus seemed to get the local nutter :lol: whilst I had two gormless tracksuited idiots who came over and asked
"So wot's dis all abowt den?"
The fact that they were each stuffing their faces on a chocolate Easter egg just added to the despair I felt.
Quote:The fact that they were each stuffing their faces on a chocolate Easter egg just added to the despair I felt.
Welcome to Laodicaea, Bro. We have a large branch of that church in the US, too.
Unfortunately that little corner behind the crucifixion stage seems to attract the fruitcakes each year, which is why those of us who do the play every year call it 'Nutters' corner'. You have an enthralled crowd of several thousand people on one side of the stage, including many watching from office buildings which have been specially opened for the purpose and on the other side you have a handful of individuals who seem oblivious to all the events they are literally surrounded by and find themselves drawn by some irresistable force to Nutters' corner where they can then catch sight of us resting behind the stage and ask us: if we are "in a Christmas play or something"; if we like the dress/hat/t-shirt/false teeth they are wearing and can't shut up about; why we are "dressed like that"; if we are the local ****** society; why we are dressed like garden gnomes (I think that particular woman may have consumed some hallucinatory substance earlier) etc. etc. I find it very tiresome at a time when I (a) want to concentrate on the significance of the event and (b) want to enjoy the company of friends who have chosen to share the experience.
Information and pictures from this year's Leicester play even can be found here:
http://www.felthamassociates.btinternet ... otos07.htm
and here:
http://www.andyespin.com/events/citc/
I am the legionary soldier with the crest and blue feathers. Maximio looks just like his avatar, and the other members present do not post on RAT (although I believe some lurk here). The 'centurion' in the trooper helmet and red cloak is from one of the local churches, and as a 'character', is not portrayed by one of the RMRS soldiers.
Crispvs
hock: