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It's all happening at the BBC at the moment. The production with the working title of The Passion is currently being edited ahead of its broadcast next March (and the edits of episodes 1-4 that I have seen are wonderful); yesterday we had the Liverpool Nativity and all this week we have Witness, which I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. Episode 1 was broadcast today and you can listen again here:

The Afternoon Play

Witness: Five Plays from the Gospel of Luke

By Nick Warburton

The story of Jesus imagined through the eyes of those who witnessed it.

Monday

The Lake

Peter and his brother Andrew tell the story of how Jesus was baptised and began to teach in Galilee, and how they were inspired to leave their lives as fishermen and follow Him.

Jesus ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
Peter ...... Peter Firth
Andrew ...... Paul Copley
Baptist ...... Stephen Greif
Elder ...... Sam Dale
Possessed man ...... John Lloyd Fillingham
John ...... Simon Treves
Woman ...... Laura Molyneux
Tempter ...... Peter Marinker

I am listening at the moment. It has a very Man Born to be King feel to it, and is great listening, though the accents are more obviously regional than they were for the Dorothy Sayers classic. I hope to continue to comment as the week goes on. I will post periodic reminders about listening to it. It's actual broadcast time is 2.15pm daily.

Note too that there is a short documentary series following the play each day, 3-3.15pm. It is presented by Ernie Rea. Details and the listen again facility are found here:

Witness: Behind Luke's Story

The blurb for today's episode is as follows:

Ernie Rea presents a series exploring Luke's gospel. 1/5: He looks at the social and political context of Jesus's radical teaching on the Kingdom of God.

Labels: BBC, Witness

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Thanks to Michael Thompson for alerting me to this interesting broadcast coming soon on Radio 4. Mike was a consultant on the project:

Witness - Five Plays from the Gospel of Luke
Radio 4

Monday 19 - Friday 21 December
14:15-15:00

Peter Firth (Spooks), Paul Hilton (True, Dare, Kiss), Lorraine Ashbourne (Jane Eyre, Playing The Field) and Penelope Wilton (Shaun Of The Dead) star in five new plays by award-winning writer Nick Warburton which tell the story of the Gospel of Luke.

The story is told through the eyes of Peter, Judas Iscariot, Andrew, Mary Magdalene, Jesus's mother Mary, Caiaphas, Pilate and many other ordinary men, women and children through whose lives Jesus passes, from his birth in Bethlehem, through his ministry, to his death on the cross and resurrection.

Warburton creates his dramas as the Gospel was made: by piecing together the story of Jesus's life from the memories of those who saw him.

On radio, there are no beards, no sand and no sandals. Filmed versions of the Gospel story can get bogged down in these images and make the events and characters seem remote and unconnected to us. The radio format allows Warburton to imagine the private thoughts, hopes and fears of those around Jesus, making these dramas intimate, accessible and alive . . .

Read it all -- there is also news of a related programme presented by Ernie Rea, Witness - Behind Luke's Story.

Labels: BBC, Witness

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