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A RELIGIOUS play boasting costumes made by an
Oscar-nominated armourer will be performed at a Cornish village church
at the weekend.
The 38-strong cast of This I Did For You (A Newlyn Passion Play) are currently in final rehearsals.
One
of the most unexpected contributors to the production is Terry English,
who is acknowledged as the finest armourer in the world.
With
more than 40 years of experience in the film industry, he has provided
costumes for everything from James Cameron's Aliens to Terry Gilliam's
Jabberwocky and Ken Russell's Gothic to Joel Schumacher's Batman And
Robin. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on John
Boorman's Excalibur.
The latest addition to Terry's long list of accolades is supplying the Roman soldiers' uniforms for the Newlyn show.
Writer Liz Harman, whose previous outings include the Newlyn
nativity play Sound The Trumpet, said she was left speechless by
Terry's offer.
"We
have an excellent team of costume makers led by Carol Grainger," she
said. "And Paul Church very generously agreed to lend some costumes,
for which I was very grateful," she said. "But when Terry English got
in touch I could hardly believe it."
Mrs
Harman, who is well-known for her dialect storytelling, explained that
Terry's nephew, Michael Johnson, works in Newlyn as a copper maker. So
when Michael heard about the play he gave his uncle a call.
"This armour is the proper works," she said. "The two men playing the Roman soldiers really look the part."
The
idea of staging a Passion play at St Peter's Church originally came
from composer Chris Kingshott, who had worked with Mrs Harman on Sound
The Trumpet. He has written all the songs and music for the latest show.
"Chris
came to me with the suggestion and I foolishly said I'd have a go,"
said Mrs Harman. "I initially thought it was too ambitious for a small
church, but decided that even if it didn't come off on this occasion at
least it would be written and someone else might stage it in the
future."
Writing
This I Did For You, with its large cast and full choir, proved a
challenge for Mrs Harman, who is also the author of Now 'Ark To Me, a
collection of short stories and poetry.
"Script-wise, there were times when I became really stuck – but I got there in the end," she said.
"I
remember one day last summer I was upstairs working on the laptop when
I hit a complete block in the narrative. So I sat back and said, 'come
on Lord, I'm trying to write your story here, can you give me a bit of
a hand?' And I think he told me to go down to the kitchen, have a cup
of tea and a biscuit and try again. It seemed to work because when I
got started again the dialogue really flowed."
A
true community effort, involving members of St Peter's Church, Trinity
Methodist Church, the Fishermen's Mission, Tredavoe Chapel and the
Church On The Rock, the production team includes an army of costume
makers, set makers and other helpers. With such a large cast, it was
necessary to widen the net to fill all the parts.
"Someone
suggested asking Trinity Methodist Church if they wanted to get
involved, then some people at the Mission came along and it snowballed
from there. It's a real Newlyn village effort and very
interdenominational. And of course there is a lot of doubling up – for
instance Pontius Pilate is also doing the lighting."
The story itself covers the period from Christ's triumphant arrival in Jerusalem through to the crucifixion and resurrection.
"It
has been a lot of work for a lot of people, but now that we're nearly
there I think the overall effect should be very powerful. And I hope
that even people without any faith or religion will enjoy the drama –
they'll like the flogging scenes if nothing else!"
This I Did For You can be seen at St Peter's Church in Newlyn this Saturday and Sunday at 7.30pm. Tickets (£4 and £2) available on the door.
article copyright WESTERN MORNING NEWS
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