Easter Play returns to Princes Street
Promenade performance for Easter Saturday
By Thom Dibdin
The Easter promenade play is returning to Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens with the world premier of CrossWords, a series of monologues which will be performed on the afternoon of Easter Saturday.
CrossWords has been inspired by a monologue for Judas, written by an inmate in Angola Prison, Louisiana, USA. The play’s producer and director, Suzanne Lofthus, decided to look at the character of Jesus as he is seen through the eyes of other biblical characters.
Chairman of the Easter Play Trust, Mike Frew, explained: “Suzanne has taken a creative and exciting approach to presenting the Easter story. In fact this production is a world premier, and though it’s different from previous Easter Plays, the intention is the same as it always has been – to tell the story of Jesus in a relevant, dramatic and thought-provoking way.”
A competition for Scottish writers was held, to create monologues which reflect the theme. The resulting ten pieces range from the thoughts of a demon-possessed man, to Mary speaking to her 12 year-old son.
The Easter Play returns after a two year hiatus and will take place in Princes Street Gardens West, using the area between the Ross Band Stand and the gardner’s cottage. As in previous years, the community arts project is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and uses amateur actors.
The audience should enter the gardens from Princes Street where they will be met by volunteer guides and given a programme and guided to the starting point. The production lasts about 90 minutes and there is no seating provided.
CrossWords, Princes Street Gardens West, Sat 30 March, 2pm, Free (non-ticketed).
Further details on the Easter Play website: www.easterplay.org
ENDS
Just found out that J A Sutherland, one of the Traverse 50, wrote one of the monologues: Malchus Hears.
According to JA’s blog:
Read the full blog here: http://throughtheturretwindow.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/suffering_29.html
Alistair Rutherford, who wrote Peapod Productions’ Passing Through is also one of the writers. His piece is about Zacchaeus: the tax collector who sees the error of his ways… from a tree.