A Passionate 'Passion Play'

The audience was treated to the powerful, hard-hitting ‘Passion Play’ written by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Director of Drama, Tim Silk, and presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Ltd. 

The play was a juxtaposition of religion and politics which was explored through the staging of the ‘Passion Play’ in three different eras: 1575 Elizabethan England; 1934 Bavaria, as Hitler is rising to power; and Spearfish, South Dakota from the Vietnam War to Ronald Reagan’s presidency. The set was striking, simple and innovative. The revolving stage and minimalist props challenged the cast of players who rose to task delivering intricate soliloquies, comedic relief and striking visual imagery.

The cast embraced the inventive script and each conveyed his/her own rendition of the magical realism that was delivered to us. There were many strong performances, with Anna Leigh-Pollitt, Conor Mather, Myles Billington and Ethan Cox particularly standing out. The audience was given the challenge to embrace the content and search for the overall meaning in the play; this challenge could only have been executed by a mature and professional cast as well as superb direction and sophisticated technical elements. It was an evening that achieved its intention: dialogue.

Tamsin Raymond, English Department