One of the world’s most important stories, the life and death of Jesus Christ, is to be re-imagined as a contemporary drama in a promenade production through Birmingham city centre.
A Passion for Birmingham sold out in 2014 and is being revived on a bigger scale. Audiences will be led through a variety of spaces in the city, with a new scene unfolding in each location.
The production is set in an alternative Second City which never recovered from the riots of 2011. Jesus, an activist as well as a preacher, forms a protest movement, drawing unwelcome attention from the authorities.
The action takes place in and around the Jewellery Quarter, with versions of The Sermon on the Mount and the Last Supper being held at locations such as St Paul's Church and the A E Harris building.
Director Tracey Street has assembled a cast which includes many actors returning from previous incarnations of the show: Alex Nikitas and Shahid Chohan play Governor Pilate and Caiaphas and Rich Stokes reprises the role of Jesus which he played in 2014.
There is also an injection of fresh, new, local talent. Alex Edwards shares the role of Jesus and Fiona Allison joins the cast in the pivotal role of Mary Magdalene.
Written and devised by Tracey Street and the Old Joint Stock theatre company, A Passion for Birmingham runs from Tuesday 15 until Friday 25 March.