BBC3's Manchester Passion

Having been infuriated yesterday that my bank unusually closed for Easter Friday and thus left me broke until Tuesday (thanks Clydesdale - revenge is going to be even sweeter) I was probably even less sympathetic than usual to any Easter 'message'.

Anyway, after a large dose of "Sahara" repeats on UKTV History I switched to BBC3 for "The Manchester Passion", where Jesus' last 24 hours was set to "Manchester hits" of recent decades live in the city centre on a Friday night! I'm an atheist but familiar from primary school days with the plot and vaguely aware of the "passion play" concept which has already taken various forms. Of these forms this was always going to be the most risky and ambitious I'd heard - in fact I initially thought it was a joke when I heard of the plans a few months back. But "well-played" I'd say on evidence of last night - it struck exactly the right balance between respect for the source and the faith while adding appropriate layers of contemporary relevance, inclusivity and even humour (the orchestra all wore boxy white trainers while the burger bar which catered their "Last Supper" was tended by a guy engrossed in "The Da Vinci Code"). There was also a touch of irony in the fact that the only cast member who was actually from a hit act was Tim Booth of James, playing Judas (but looking like Emperor Ming) - he was left offstage while Jesus and his remaining disciples sang the anthemic "Sit Down". Some of the chosen songs I felt went a bit flat when stripped of their normal context ("Cast No Shadow" was just dull and repetitive) or had a rather tenuous Manchester link ("Angels" obviously fitted magnificently but even if Take That could be considered a Manchester band, Robbie Williams the solo artist is from Stoke-on-Trent). Also the song lyrics popped on and off-screen at random, which was annoying. Altogether more hits than misses though - Keith Allen was an engaging and challenging host who metamorphosed into a sharp-suited Pilate for the latter stages and in a final twist merged the two roles as he closed the 'scripted' show with thank yous only to be upstaged by the resurrected Jesus, who was picked out in white light under the clock of the Town Hall singing (of course) "I am the Resurrection". And the gimmick of having the 'players' reach the Albert Square stage from one end of the city centre - Cathedral Square - while a giant illuminated crucifix was carried through streets from another end - Chorlton Street - was rather clever. The metaphor of Jesus as generic rebel against prevailing authority was underlined too, notably being brought before Pilate in orange overalls. I should mention too the brilliant central performance by Darren Morfitt, though his accent veered a little north-east of Manchester at times.

Here's a rather good review in "The Guardian".