Passion Play Feels The Heat

The Age

Monday March 17, 2008

Chris Evans

SOARING temperatures have been blamed for a smaller-than-usual audience for yesterday's performance of the Annual Melbourne Passion Play.

Play chairman Gino Gamaldi said the Palm Sunday event would normally attract between 3000 and 4000 spectators at Ruffey Lake Park in Doncaster. Between 150 and several hundred people were estimated to have attended.

"It's been a very, very hot afternoon out there. We've lost a lot of people, I'd say, because of the heat," he said.

Mr Gamaldi, a 10-year veteran of the event, said the play involved a cast of 80 to 100, who had rehearsed every Sunday afternoon and Tuesday evening since about mid-January.

"It's not affiliated with any church at all. The story itself is the story of Jesus and his ministry from the baptism through to his resurrection," he said.

"We do about 12 scenes in different locations around the park. It's a pilgrimage, because we get the crowd to move with us around the park."

Religious theatre figure John Lee, who two years ago produced the anti-abortion play Call of Guadalupe, took time out from preparations for his next production, Saul Saul, Paul Paul, to direct the play.

Mr Gamaldi plays a centurion, in command of about 25 Roman soldiers who also step out of the action to provide crowd control.

"We expect that what's going to happen, because of the heat, is that we'll get a bumper crowd on Friday (Good Friday) morning. That's when our next performance is," he said.

"We'll probably end up with 5000 or 6000 people there, I'd say."

The Good Friday performance will begin at 10am at Ruffey Lake Park in Victoria Street, Doncaster, with a fine day forecast.

© 2008 The Age

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