“It must have made people reallythink about Jesus and I hope it taughtthose who didn’t know him to makethem want to know more.”

The Passion Trust is a registered charity thatexists to support and promote performancesof passion plays and biblical drama aroundthe United Kingdom. These plays are newand exciting aspects of Easter celebrationsand a growing number of Passion Plays arebeing performed across the UnitedKingdom, including Trafalgar Square,Glasgow, Dundee, Guildford, Northampton,Bolton, Leominster and Brighton.

Together these performances attract crowdsof people in the thousands and they areregularly featured in national and regionalnewspapers. They are fitting performancesduring Easter to focus attention on the realreason behind the eggs and chocolate:Jesus’ death and resurrection, which is thecentre of the Christian faith and hope.

“I’m not religious, but when they put Jesuson the Cross, it got through to me. It was veryreal.” - Ken, 73, Brighton

Resourcing new passion plays inlocal communities and providingpro-bono consultations.

Supporting the passion playcommunity through resourcesand events to facilitateinnovation and creativity.

Promoting biblical drama,publicising performances andfundraising on behalf of passionplays in the UK.

Promoting biblical literacy andongoing research through work-shops and conferences.

A Passion Play dramatises the events ofthe last week of Jesus’ life, depicting theevents that led up to his crucifixion.Many Passion Plays today also includea dramatic portrayal of Jesus’ life,including his teachings and miracles,and his resurrection to show thecontext in which his death took place.

Passion Plays use theatre to bring thewords of the Gospel to life in new, oftenvivid and startling, ways. They showhow the message of second chances,forgiveness and new opportunities hasthe potential to speak life and hope intocommunities struggling with poverty,crime, addiction or hopelessness andboredom.

A Passion Play is a dramatic portrayal ofwhat has been called the greatest storyever told. It is the real story of Easter andit has all the elements of stories that arecompelling and confronting: treachery,betrayal, injustice, sacrifice, redemptionand a startling ending. As Passion Playsdramatize the story of Easter, they allowit to speak again to new audiences innew contexts.

“It was fantastic. It was so moving.It just brings everything to you.It blew me away”– Paul, 55, from Dorking

Passion plays, ranging in size frominvolving whole cities to smallcommunities, have a lasting impact.

“The impact of the turn-out was immense:that alone made a huge statement. Thesense of unity and camaraderie of the eventwas huge. People from different churchesand various streams worked alongside oneanother and became close friends. Whatwas unforeseen and encouraging was howworking closely with the Civic Authoritiesforged friendships and put us on the mapwith them. It seems we earned a lot of favourand respect with them and the Police. Thispaved the way for the arranging of otherevents and Street Pastors.”

“We are being invited to step into our mosttreasured story, afresh and to discover itliving and breathing at the heart of our localcommunity, as strangers and neighboursbecome friends and God’s footsteps arefollowed down our street.”

In a survey conducted by theBible Society in 2014 38% ofchildren indicated that they havenever seen, read or heard Adam& Eve and 43% had never seen,read or heard of the Crucifixion.

“The suffering and triumphportrayed in this movingproduction speaks to everyone,regardless of their backgroundor beliefs. The work of everybodyinvolved is inspiring”MP for Hove & Portslade

The Passion brought tearsto my eyes …. it was a trulywonderful production.

“The Passion brought tears to myeyes … it was a truly wonderfulproduction. When it comes totelling the Christian story, nothingmakes greater impact, or has ahigher profile, than a Passionplay; it stops people in theirtracks, delegates to a conferencerun by the Passion Trust allagreed on Saturday.”Pat Ashworth (Church Times)