Miriam Swainsbury answers some questions about working as an actor on The Narrow Road.
Who are you and who did you play in The Narrow Road?
Hi, I’m Miriam, alongside a modern pilgrim in the Holy Land, I played the disciple Thaddeus, Mother, Old Shepherd, Demon-Possessed Woman, Sana (the woman at the well), Guard and the Gethsemane Angel.
What is your favourite part of the play?
It’s arriving at the river Jordan, the baptisms and then the boat scene on the sea of Galilee. For the travelling pilgrims, this is a chance to enjoy the cool, refreshing water after a long trek. It is also the most joyful sequence – as the disciples watch Jesus heal sick people, tell a parable about fishing and release a demon-possessed woman back to her true self, to peace.
JESUS: I want to give you rest. You are a fisherman, Peter. As you say, good with your hands. And I will make you fishers of men. Will you follow me?
PETER: (Excited) I will, Rabbi.
JESUS: Then come to me. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me. I am not so terrifying, am I?
PETER: You? (Laughs) No.
PETER is baptized.
JESUS: This water is your Jordan. I am your land. I am your inheritance. I am your promise. I am your rest. Do you understand this, Peter?
PETER: My head doesn’t but my gut does. That’s what usually serves me best.
© 2010 Paul Birch
What did you learn during the process?
I learnt the value of being open and adaptable. I came back to this production for the third time and yet it was so different because of the impact made by our two new cast members. That’s half the cast! Each actor brings something distinctive and that keeps the whole performance alive.
I also learnt how much the times we live in affect the poignancy of the work we do. When we performed our first and last show to a small audience at Friargate Theatre the day before the coronavirus shutdown, a lot of the text suddenly felt incredibly relevant to these unsettling times we are all faced with. It was also threaded through with hope.
What made you laugh most in rehearsals?
A lot of things. I am guilty of getting the giggles quite easily in rehearsal, so it is quite hard to choose what made me laugh the most. There was one afternoon when we were working on the Last Supper, when everything made me laugh. Breaking custard cream biscuits instead of bread made it very hard to keep a straight face!
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