"One of the greatest stories ever told is brilliantly retold as a contemporary drama by this talented company with a core of professional actors in a cast which also includes people from the local community.
It shows the final days of Jesus, but in the heart of modern day, post riots Birmingham, and the opening night audience were clearly deeply moved by the emotional and at times brutal scenes during the promenade-style production.
The story begins in the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral then moves to ten different places in the famous Old Joint Stock pub and the nearby Wellington, with a new scene unfolding each time.
It means the audience, led by guides, need to climb numerous staircases and a fire escape and negotiate corridors, sometimes by torchlight, but it works perfectly, and the ‘crucifixion’ and killing of two other prisoners, in a dimly lit room, is gripping and heartbreaking.
Rich Stokes, in open-neck shirt, jeans and boots, is superb as ‘Jesus Davidson of Northfield’, and there are powerful performances from Harpreet Jhutty (Judas), Emma Swann (Mary), Alex Nikitas (Pilate), Shahid Chohan (Caiaphus) and Richard Nunn (head of security), while the rest of the multi cultural cast play their parts splendidly.
The last supper is staged in the Old Joint Stock’s theatre, and the drama closes inside the cathedral after a candlelight walk, with Rebecca Brookes leading the entire company singing We’ve Got Open Arms, by Elbow.
The play, written and devised by Tim Jefferies and the cast, and directed by Tracey Street, runs to Saturday night, April 19."
VERDICT: * * * *
PAUL MARSTON BIRMINGHAM MAIL, BIRMINGHAM POST & BEHIND THE ARRAS
"Birmingham is under the autocratic rule of The Authority, as personified by Governor Pilate. Following civil unrest and riots, curfews are in place and assemblies in the city are banned. But The Authority, mindful that elections are shortly due, has come to an agreement with the church for the biggest festival, Passover 2014, to take place in the grounds of the cathedral, provided that the church can guarantee security. Pilate and his supporters take advantage of the occasion to canvass support on a law and order ticket. But his plans are sent awry by the return of an itinerant Brummie preacher and revolutionary, Jesus Davidson of Northfield. So starts this community promenade production of the Passion.
This is a Passion not for the fainthearted. It is hard-hitting and uncompromising. The scenes where Jesus turns the moneylenders out of the temple or where he is under arrest and being tortured are loud, brutal and affecting. It also includes a lot of movement up and down stairs within and outside the Old Joint Stock and the neighbouring Wellington pub, making it a challenging watch for anyone not in their prime. Indeed, some of the transitions took perhaps too long, extending the planned running time and causing the pace and fluidity to slip. Nevertheless, most of the locations are very effective in setting a mood as the audience trails through narrow passages and in darkened rooms for the death of Jesus, for example, and the later scenes back in the Cathedral grounds when the risen Jesus reveals himself to Mary Magdalene and Tom, followed by the finale within the Cathedral itself are especially effective. But trying to tell the whole story means that some aspects hang in the air – the political decision for Pilate to offer the population the pardon of a prisoner doesn’t seem to go anywhere, and Peter’s denial is predicted but somehow gets lost in the subsequent action.
Jesus Davidson is played by two actors at alternate performances; at this performance it was Richard Stokes. Stokes brings an intensity with at times barely contained rage; but he is most effective when introspective, asking why, for example, he has to suffer this way, searching for a Plan B. Harpreet Jhutty’s Judas is played more as misguided and misled than calculating; he gullibly takes Richard Nunn’s Head of Security at face value rather than see through to the true political agenda. Alex Nikitas’ Pilate is the consummate politician: cunning convincing, full of rhetoric, scheming, ultimately shallow. Priest Marcus (John Markowski) is convincing as a priest genuinely shocked by Jesus’ conduct and perceived blasphemy; he has some of the most compelling lines in the piece. The production hints that maybe there was more to the relationship between Mary Magdalene (Emma Swann) and Jesus than is often imagined; her well-acted reactions to his introspection at the Last Supper, his death and subsequent resurrection hint strongly at this greater depth of feeling.
The opening night’s production still had a few wrinkles to iron out, especially in the timing, but this does form a faithful and hard-hitting contemporary take on a classic story."
Selwyn Knight
The Public Reviews.com
"And now for something different about something not too different.
York and Coventry have their play cycles, and Oberammergau has a little show of its own. So why shouldn’t Birmingham have one? Birmingham’s premier pub theatre and a creative and energetic team have decided it should. So a cast of around 30 take us through the Easter Passion on a spiritual and physical journey.
The Birmingham we know came into being as the result of industry – some heavy and some delicate. But it’s down-to-earth and no-nonsense. The OJS’s PASSION reflects these qualities; the familiar story is translated to modern day with an opening platform speech from Pilate, standing for re-election on a manifesto of law and order and explaining the need for recent curfews. Jesus speaks for freedom from tyranny – and, as we know, will suffer for it.
The play moves from the Cathedral grounds to the Old Joint Stock – every nook, cranny, cubby hole and staircase is inventively used in this promenade production. Even a room in a friendly neighbouring pub is used (Pilate’s campaign office.)
There is a clever and chilling twist to the crucifixion itself – and OJS’s Jesus won’t suffer the same injury as The Archers’ Jesus has done, though he may be in danger of others. Gloriously the play moves from the gloom on this scene to the bright sunshine of the Cathedral Square for the Resurrection (I saw it on a lovely sunny afternoon.) It concludes, appropriately and movingly inside the Cathedral, St Philip’s, as the entire company join in a concluding song. And as they sing – a bonus; a view of one of Birmingham’s treasures, Burne-Jones’s stained glass windows – what could be more magical?
Genuinely committed work from the entire company lends the play great truth. And most powerful of all, within the context of this Christian story, a great multi-cultural company joining as one in a powerful cross-cultural message that can’t be spoken too often. Yes, Birmingham knows how to do it!"
Alexander Ray Edser
ReviewsGate.com
The Old Joint Stock Theatre Company present an original and expansive promenade retelling of the Passion Story set in modern-day Birmingham, spanning three buildings and various streets in the city centre.
‘Jesus Davidson of Northfield’ is played by two alternating actors; this night it was Seabert Henry, who was excellent as a brooding but fragile rogue. Alex Nikitas is perfectly cast as Pilate, a mercilessly on-message politician, and the large multicultural cast played their roles superbly.
But it is the surprises which sell the production: the audience kit bags filled with items which enhance various scenes, the spot-on extras (Pilate’s campaign material – later defaced), and most of all the variety and inventiveness of the spaces used. We enter the Old Joint Stock Theatre itself twice, first for The Last Supper as an immersive party-turned-sour, then later the technicolour trappings are stripped away for a brutal Guantanamo Bay-style crucifixion.
The show feels overlong and there is often too much distance between scenes, but for sheer ambition, creativity and commitment this young company cannot be faulted.
14-19 April 2014
James Pursglove
What's On Birmingham
Review: 5/5
It shows the final days of Jesus, but in the heart of modern day, post riots Birmingham, and the opening night audience were clearly deeply moved by the emotional and at times brutal scenes during the promenade-style production.
The story begins in the grounds of Birmingham Cathedral then moves to ten different places in the famous Old Joint Stock pub and the nearby Wellington, with a new scene unfolding each time.
It means the audience, led by guides, need to climb numerous staircases and a fire escape and negotiate corridors, sometimes by torchlight, but it works perfectly, and the ‘crucifixion’ and killing of two other prisoners, in a dimly lit room, is gripping and heartbreaking.
Rich Stokes, in open-neck shirt, jeans and boots, is superb as ‘Jesus Davidson of Northfield’, and there are powerful performances from Harpreet Jhutty (Judas), Emma Swann (Mary), Alex Nikitas (Pilate), Shahid Chohan (Caiaphus) and Richard Nunn (head of security), while the rest of the multi cultural cast play their parts splendidly.
The last supper is staged in the Old Joint Stock’s theatre, and the drama closes inside the cathedral after a candlelight walk, with Rebecca Brookes leading the entire company singing We’ve Got Open Arms, by Elbow.
The play, written and devised by Tim Jefferies and the cast, and directed by Tracey Street, runs to Saturday night, April 19."
VERDICT: * * * *
PAUL MARSTON BIRMINGHAM MAIL, BIRMINGHAM POST & BEHIND THE ARRAS
"Birmingham is under the autocratic rule of The Authority, as personified by Governor Pilate. Following civil unrest and riots, curfews are in place and assemblies in the city are banned. But The Authority, mindful that elections are shortly due, has come to an agreement with the church for the biggest festival, Passover 2014, to take place in the grounds of the cathedral, provided that the church can guarantee security. Pilate and his supporters take advantage of the occasion to canvass support on a law and order ticket. But his plans are sent awry by the return of an itinerant Brummie preacher and revolutionary, Jesus Davidson of Northfield. So starts this community promenade production of the Passion.
This is a Passion not for the fainthearted. It is hard-hitting and uncompromising. The scenes where Jesus turns the moneylenders out of the temple or where he is under arrest and being tortured are loud, brutal and affecting. It also includes a lot of movement up and down stairs within and outside the Old Joint Stock and the neighbouring Wellington pub, making it a challenging watch for anyone not in their prime. Indeed, some of the transitions took perhaps too long, extending the planned running time and causing the pace and fluidity to slip. Nevertheless, most of the locations are very effective in setting a mood as the audience trails through narrow passages and in darkened rooms for the death of Jesus, for example, and the later scenes back in the Cathedral grounds when the risen Jesus reveals himself to Mary Magdalene and Tom, followed by the finale within the Cathedral itself are especially effective. But trying to tell the whole story means that some aspects hang in the air – the political decision for Pilate to offer the population the pardon of a prisoner doesn’t seem to go anywhere, and Peter’s denial is predicted but somehow gets lost in the subsequent action.
Jesus Davidson is played by two actors at alternate performances; at this performance it was Richard Stokes. Stokes brings an intensity with at times barely contained rage; but he is most effective when introspective, asking why, for example, he has to suffer this way, searching for a Plan B. Harpreet Jhutty’s Judas is played more as misguided and misled than calculating; he gullibly takes Richard Nunn’s Head of Security at face value rather than see through to the true political agenda. Alex Nikitas’ Pilate is the consummate politician: cunning convincing, full of rhetoric, scheming, ultimately shallow. Priest Marcus (John Markowski) is convincing as a priest genuinely shocked by Jesus’ conduct and perceived blasphemy; he has some of the most compelling lines in the piece. The production hints that maybe there was more to the relationship between Mary Magdalene (Emma Swann) and Jesus than is often imagined; her well-acted reactions to his introspection at the Last Supper, his death and subsequent resurrection hint strongly at this greater depth of feeling.
The opening night’s production still had a few wrinkles to iron out, especially in the timing, but this does form a faithful and hard-hitting contemporary take on a classic story."
Selwyn Knight
The Public Reviews.com
"And now for something different about something not too different.
York and Coventry have their play cycles, and Oberammergau has a little show of its own. So why shouldn’t Birmingham have one? Birmingham’s premier pub theatre and a creative and energetic team have decided it should. So a cast of around 30 take us through the Easter Passion on a spiritual and physical journey.
The Birmingham we know came into being as the result of industry – some heavy and some delicate. But it’s down-to-earth and no-nonsense. The OJS’s PASSION reflects these qualities; the familiar story is translated to modern day with an opening platform speech from Pilate, standing for re-election on a manifesto of law and order and explaining the need for recent curfews. Jesus speaks for freedom from tyranny – and, as we know, will suffer for it.
The play moves from the Cathedral grounds to the Old Joint Stock – every nook, cranny, cubby hole and staircase is inventively used in this promenade production. Even a room in a friendly neighbouring pub is used (Pilate’s campaign office.)
There is a clever and chilling twist to the crucifixion itself – and OJS’s Jesus won’t suffer the same injury as The Archers’ Jesus has done, though he may be in danger of others. Gloriously the play moves from the gloom on this scene to the bright sunshine of the Cathedral Square for the Resurrection (I saw it on a lovely sunny afternoon.) It concludes, appropriately and movingly inside the Cathedral, St Philip’s, as the entire company join in a concluding song. And as they sing – a bonus; a view of one of Birmingham’s treasures, Burne-Jones’s stained glass windows – what could be more magical?
Genuinely committed work from the entire company lends the play great truth. And most powerful of all, within the context of this Christian story, a great multi-cultural company joining as one in a powerful cross-cultural message that can’t be spoken too often. Yes, Birmingham knows how to do it!"
Alexander Ray Edser
ReviewsGate.com
The Old Joint Stock Theatre Company present an original and expansive promenade retelling of the Passion Story set in modern-day Birmingham, spanning three buildings and various streets in the city centre.
‘Jesus Davidson of Northfield’ is played by two alternating actors; this night it was Seabert Henry, who was excellent as a brooding but fragile rogue. Alex Nikitas is perfectly cast as Pilate, a mercilessly on-message politician, and the large multicultural cast played their roles superbly.
But it is the surprises which sell the production: the audience kit bags filled with items which enhance various scenes, the spot-on extras (Pilate’s campaign material – later defaced), and most of all the variety and inventiveness of the spaces used. We enter the Old Joint Stock Theatre itself twice, first for The Last Supper as an immersive party-turned-sour, then later the technicolour trappings are stripped away for a brutal Guantanamo Bay-style crucifixion.
The show feels overlong and there is often too much distance between scenes, but for sheer ambition, creativity and commitment this young company cannot be faulted.
14-19 April 2014
James Pursglove
What's On Birmingham
Review: 5/5