Jesus returns to Brighton for Easter

By Jenni Davidson

Key events from the life of Christ are to be reenacted in Brighton in for Easter.

Performers from arts groups Soul by the Sea and Movement in Worship will take to the streets tomorrow (Sunday 13 April) with banners and musical instruments to celebrate Palm Sunday.

© Soul by the Sea

Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter when the church remembers Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on a donkey.

The performers will set off from the West Pier at 12pm along the seafront and up the Old Steine to St Peter’s Church.

The Palm Sunday parade is a prelude to two performances of the play Passion of Christ on Easter Sunday (20 April).

Passion of Christ depicts the dramatic events leading to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

The play will be performed on the lawn outside St Peter’s Church at 2pm and 4.30pm.

The event is free and unticketed, but children must be accompanied by adults and no glass or alcohol is allowed.

James Burke-Dunsmore, the writer and director of Passion of Christ, will take the lead role of Jesus alongside a cast of local volunteers.

Mr Burke-Dunsmore has played Jesus more than 80 times, including on BBC TV and radio.

He is a trustee of Passion Trust, a charity that promotes performances of passion plays and biblical drama in the UK.

The play is produced by Soul by the Sea, a Brighton-based, Christian not-for-profit performing arts organisation.

This is the fourth year that the Passion of Christ has been performed in Brighton and Hove for Easter.