Actor Michael Sheen on day two of The Passion in his home town of Port Talbot Hollywood actor Michael Sheen will perform a “crucifixion” scene in Port Talbot as the grand finale to his 72-hour performance of The Passion.
Sheen has returned home to Port Talbot to star as a Christ-like character in the marathon theatre production.
On Saturday he ate a “last supper” of beer and sandwiches at a social club in the south Wales town, where rock band the Manic Street Preachers performed.
Sunday’s crucifixion scene will be performed on a roundabout.
As well as co-directing The Passion, Sheen is also starring in the production, which has a core cast of 15 professionals from Port Talbot.
More than 1,000 local residents are also taking part in the National Theatre Wales production, which is being performed at venues across the town.
“It’s exceeded everybody’s expectations – it’s caught the mood of the moment”
John McGrath National Theatre Wales
The play began at 0530 BST on Good Friday with a seafront scene inspired by John the Baptist’s baptism of Jesus, which was watched by hundreds who had heard about it by word of mouth.
By the time the first main part of the play was performed on Aberavon Beach at 1500 BST, organisers estimate up to 6,000 people had gathered to watch.
On Saturday, there were sequences in Llewellyn Street, the Castle Street underpass, Aberafan Shopping Centre, the Seaside Social and Labour Club in Sandfields and nearby Abbeyville Court.
John McGrath, artistic director of National Theatre Wales, said he was delighted with the response to the play.
“It’s absolutely fantastic – the whole town understood it and got the bug. And they’ve rushed out again after finding their home town all over the nation’s front pages – it’s a real sense of celebration.
National Theatre Wales says it is delighted with the response from the people of Port Talbot “It’s exceeded everybody’s expectations – it’s caught the mood of the moment and has even been on the news in Australia.
“It’s created a real sense of pride among people in this town.”
On Easter Sunday, the production will return to Aberavon Beach as part of the finale.
A trial will be performed on Civic Square at 1400 BST, before a procession from Station Road at 1700 BST. The final scene, “the cross”, will be performed at Aberavon seafront at 2000 BST.
Passion plays developed to tell the story of the trial suffering and death of Christ.
Sheen, known for his screen portrayals of figures such as Tony Blair, David Frost and Brian Clough, has said he was inspired by the community spirit of the passion plays he watched at nearby Margam Park as a youngster.
Written by Welsh poet and novelist Owen Sheers, the Easter production is the last and largest of a series of National Theatre Wales “moving productions” in its first year.
Mr McGrath said: “We’ve followed the sequence of events quite faithfully in making a new story based on the Passion, making it work theatrically and as a community event”.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.