The Narrow Road Virtual Tour Part 5

Who are you and what did you play?

Hello I’m John. As a veteran actor of Riding Lights Theatre Company it was a pleasure to return to The Narrow Road. Mine was the challenge of playing Peter, Caiaphas, Pilate, a Syrian soldier and a disciple on the road to Emmaus. These, coupled with the mysterious pilgrim traveller 2, or Steve (shhh my secret), who is one of a close-knit group of pilgrims on The Road.

What is your favourite part of the play?

My favourite? I might cheat. I have particularly enjoyed discovering a new dynamic amongst our pilgrim characters. It was lovely. Joyful. Really. They are a close, playful, soulful trio. Earnest in their desire to encounter Jesus but willing to rest in a moment of calm, to share a joke or a reflection.

Their guidebook has the power to evoke the presence of bygone characters, to draw us into scenes which resonate with the challenge of Jesus’s presence. Perhaps they are a family travelling together? This was good to explore – finding an intimacy, an easy way of connecting. And yet each has differing personal needs, doubts, or reasons for walking the pilgrim trail.

They all learn from the experiences of the characters which they portray. I enjoyed creating connections between my range of characters and the spiritual development and understanding of (Steve… !) my pilgrim. He was profoundly moved and changed by it all… er… and then Erin, our director, started to talk about the Enneagram, which Steve found difficult to cope with TBH.  But I digress…

What made you laugh in rehearsals?

Nothing of course!  I was deeply professional!  I did amuse myself spending a bit of time wondering how we might improve the fare at the Last Supper – whether we could justify the use of petty cash on tour for the procurement of stuffed olives and other authentic Holy Land delights.