Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Witness - Five Plays from the Gospel of Luke

Thanks to Michael Thompson for alerting me to this interesting broadcast coming soon on Radio 4. Mike was a consultant on the project:

Witness - Five Plays from the Gospel of Luke
Radio 4

Monday 19 - Friday 21 December
14:15-15:00
Peter Firth (Spooks), Paul Hilton (True, Dare, Kiss), Lorraine Ashbourne (Jane Eyre, Playing The Field) and Penelope Wilton (Shaun Of The Dead) star in five new plays by award-winning writer Nick Warburton which tell the story of the Gospel of Luke.

The story is told through the eyes of Peter, Judas Iscariot, Andrew, Mary Magdalene, Jesus's mother Mary, Caiaphas, Pilate and many other ordinary men, women and children through whose lives Jesus passes, from his birth in Bethlehem, through his ministry, to his death on the cross and resurrection.

Warburton creates his dramas as the Gospel was made: by piecing together the story of Jesus's life from the memories of those who saw him.

On radio, there are no beards, no sand and no sandals. Filmed versions of the Gospel story can get bogged down in these images and make the events and characters seem remote and unconnected to us. The radio format allows Warburton to imagine the private thoughts, hopes and fears of those around Jesus, making these dramas intimate, accessible and alive . . .
Read it all -- there is also news of a related programme presented by Ernie Rea, Witness - Behind Luke's Story.

5 comments:

MichaelangeloT said...

Thanks, Mark. That's Monday the 17th (not the 19th). FWIW, I think the series could be used creatively in a variety of settings (churches, but also academic discussions of what the evangelists were trying to do and how they used tradition).

All the best,

Mike Thompson

Janet said...

I found these by happy accident when fishing for some good Internet radio. They are available on CD from Amazon UK---really wonderful, very moving! Another excellent thing available at Amazon UK is the BBC TV production called "The Passion." One caveat: it will not play on all US DVD plyers (but seems to be fine in any computer). I have already bought 6 copies of the DVD to share with others. Don't miss it!

Blessings+
Janet

Janet said...

Oops, Mark! Had already corresponded with you about "The Passion"---didn't realize that this is YOUR blog!!! But see how much I LOVE the film? Just bought another one last week... :0)

Mark Goodacre said...

Thanks, Janet. Love your enthusiasm for the Passion too!

Janet said...

Just realized that the CD's are available at Amazon US, too. I agreaa with you, Mike....these could be used wonderfully in a lot of ways. Love them!