IT was quite emotional when Carol Young heard Jesus declaring that she had been healed.

Carol was actually acting as a Biblical character in the Havant Passion Play. The ‘Jesus’ who spoke to her was the actor James Burke-Dunsmore. But it helped Carol to understand better how it might have felt to encounter Jesus in the flesh.

It was the second time she had performed as part of the town’s Passion Play. The first time, in 2015, she was one of the temple guards and had plenty of crowd scenes to participate in. The second time, in 2017, she played the woman who had been bleeding for many years, and had one main scene to rehearse.

For Carol, who goes to St John’s Church, Rowlands Castle, it crystallised the importance of drama and role play as a way of understanding the Bible. Time spent in rehearsal understanding the background behind each scene and the personalities of those who met Jesus was invaluable.

“Ten to 15 years beforehand, I’d been in about a dozen plays with Southsea Shakespeare Actors, so I was aware of how powerful drama could be,” she said. “This was such a good opportunity to do an outdoor production that explained Jesus’s life and death.

“I was working long hours during the first Passion Play, so had to beg for time off to attend rehearsals. It wasn’t easy, but it was so rewarding. I had fewer rehearsals for the second one, because I was in one specific scene. But it was interesting how the role developed during rehearsals.

“James was also the director, and helped us to understand the society in which this was taking place, the way people behaved, and how to understand your character.

“Bible stories can be over-familiar when you’ve heard them for years. This was a good opportunity to see what actually happened in more depth. Everyone was struck by the crucifixion scenes in both productions. You could sense that it was affecting people, and I hope it made them think.

“It also helps with our personal faith, and it’s also good to get to know people from other churches and denominations. It was lovely to realise that any differences in worship didn't matter – it was helping to portray the life of Jesus and deliver the good news that did.”

Carol will also be part of this summer’s Passion Play, which takes place on August 17-18 in Havant Park. As before, the cast will include worshippers from churches of all denominations across Havant, Leigh Park, Bedhampton, Rowlands Castle and further afield. It will be free to attend, and the cast hope passers-by will stop and watch.

During the spring, James Burke-Dunsmore, who also plays Jesus in the acclaimed, open-air production of ‘The Life of Christ’ at Wintershall, near Guildford, will hold workshops and then firm up a script. Anyone interested can contact the Rev Jonathan Jeffery on jonathanjeffery7@btinternet.com. Rehearsals will start in June.