Christ in the Centre - Good Friday 2004 - LEICESTER

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On another gloriously sunny day, this second dramatic reconstruction took place on 9th April 2004 starting from Leicester Cathedral at 10.45 a.m.  when Jesus walked into the City alongside a donkey with his followers and a jubilant crowd waving palm fronds and shouting Halleluiah and Hosanna. Jesus and his followers were met in the Market Square by the Chief Priests.  Jesus and the crowd then continued through the market to Horsefair Street and eventually into the Town Hall Square where Jesus and his disciples rested, ate a last supper and then moved into the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was arrested after being identified by Judas, one of his disciples. After his arrest and trial, Jesus was sentenced to be crucified and forced to carry his cross through the crowded Gallowtree Gate to Humberstone Gate where he was crucified alongside two robbers in front of several thousand onlookers. Below are some of the photos received from one of the onlookers.  If you took photos or video film please do contact us; if you have any comments on this year's production then please do contact us via email to SWORD.  Please read the eye-witness article (below) by one of the stewards.
	This year the procession started at Leicester Cathedral with Jesus entering the City with a donkey and surrounded by followers waving palm fronds and a growing crowd.  They walked through the Market, where they were met by the Chief Priests, and then on into Horsefair Street towards the Town Hall. Here Jesus (played by Eric Petrossian - long dark hair and bearded in the centre of this photo) walks with the donkey, his disciples and followers through the crowds already gathered in Town Hall Square. Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
Another change from 2003, Jesus and his disciples re-enact the Last Supper.       Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
	Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin, the Pharisee Council, to answer charges.             Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
Jesus is interviewed by Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor.             Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
	Jesus is whipped. (This piece of the drama was in the form of a dance with each of the four dancers wiping their hands, covered in blood, onto Jesus' trunk in a series of stripes to the crash of the cymbals in the musical accompaniment).       Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
Finally, after dressing him up in a crimson robe and putting a crown of thorns on his head, Jesus is sentenced to be crucified and is led away by the Roman soldiers.           Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
	After crucifying two robbers, one on either side, the soldiers nail Jesus to the cross and erect it (Humberstone Gate). Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
Jesus cries out "Everything is done!  FATHER, I PUT MYSELF INTO YOUR HANDS!" and dies.  The onlookers realise this indeed was no ordinary man. Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for his body.       Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
	The choir and musicians led by Rod Iliffe (Musical Director) and Kendal Kirkland (composer).           Back to the top    Back home   SWORD website
Several thousand onlookers filled the end of Humberstone Gate to witness the drama and to join in the worship. It was difficult for people at the back to see the detail so there are plans for taller stages and a video screen for the future.	Is Bishop Tim Stevens lobbying the SWORD Director, Louisa Feltham, to produce a third event in 2005?
Back to the top      Back to SWORD website    Home	Created by SWORD Christian Drama Group (February, 2008)

An article by one of the stewards on the day

A magnificent portrayal, the acoustics were particularly good - even if your view was poor you could hear the dialogue, as one lady in a wheel chair remarked.

Given to understand that stewards for this event were in short supply, I offered my services. Entering the Methodist Church in Town Hall Square, it was obvious that many people had the same idea - the room was crowded. Greeted by Melanie, a very pleasant lady, we were briefed, handed a yellow steward's bib and service sheets and sent to various points en route.

I found myself at the corner of Greyfriars, with a good view of the starting point at the Cathedral. I shared my position with an Irish gentleman. Speaking of the beauty of Ireland , he turned to me and said, "The family are gone." His voice broke as he said, "It is too painful to go back to the old homestead." Life can be so sad, I thought. As I greeted people it was obvious that they were in the city for different reasons. I directed a couple to a store; answered queries as to why the crowd had gathered; where was the Cathedral? I continually replenished my stock of service sheets as the crowd grew. My bonus was the 82-year-old gentleman recovering from an eye operation. On collecting his sheet he told me that the first time he went to the Cathedral was in 1932 with a boys' group. He was late home, explaining to his mother about this wonderful building. She remarked, "If it's so good, you can go every Sunday," which he did. He then related that he was a Dunkirk Veteran, who had returned in a tiny boat with an outboard engine. The `Skipper' was in his late 70s and the boat was about 20 yards from shore. It was the first and only time my friend had swum. He was hauled aboard with six other men and it took seventeen hours to reach Hastings .

Traffic was halted and the procession moved off. Followed by a crowd which included people using walking sticks, Zimmer frames and wheelchairs, children in pushchairs, folk with rucksacks, all gazing at the well-behaved donkey with Jesus' hand on its back. Men were leading the way, spreading palms. The crowds swelled as we made our way through the market. Reaching the Town Hall Square, the crowd was enormous. Children watched in wonderment as the Roman soldiers appeared. A teenager remarked on their odd dress. I turned and said, "Interesting that the Romans actually lived here hundreds of years ago." Blank stares from the teenager. " Leicester began as a Roman city."  "Really?"

A young girl from an ethnic group asked me if I could explain what the story was about. I found it difficult to supply basic answers, even relating the true meaning behind the chocolate eggs in which she seemed so interested. She decided to accompany to the site of the crucifixion in Humberstone Gate, thanking me for my time.

The brief service I found very moving. The simple address by the Bishop and the Methodist Minister, the singing of the Easter hymns and the bowing of hundreds of heads repeating the Lord's Prayer - all while people were walking past each side, shopping. A true Christian belief within the community.

I enjoyed my stewardship.

Beryl Betts

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Created by   SWORD Christian Drama Group (February, 2008)

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