Written and Directed by - Sharon Muiruri Coyne

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The Poole Passion production of Through the

Eyes of a Child was first performed in 2009 with

4 more productions until 2018.

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Performed with Act 1 at Parkstone United Reform

Church in Poole then the cast and audience walking a procession together, during the interval, to the nearby St Peter's Church for the spectacular crucifixion scene with powerful music by Richard McLester and stunning 3D projections by Son et Lumiere created by Martin Coyne.

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A beautiful and moving story, written with great love and compassion by Sharon, sees a child who is visited by a Gaurdian Angel who takes her back to see the final days of Jesus' life as the child interprets the events through her eyes.

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Each new production had a different actor playing Jesus.

With many powerful, thought provoking and totally unique performances, notably by Stuart Glossop in 2014 and Jamie Derrick in 2018.  With Stuart and Jamie drawing on their diverse acting skills by returning to play other characters in later productions.

Many other memorable performances were enjoyed by Charlie Hall as Herod and David Wade as Pilate, and many others, too many to mention, who each brought such colour and depth to their characters.

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Sharon says:

"When writing for a community play the actual group you are writing for inspires the writer either consciously or subconsciously. So the parts almost become tailor made. The play was written organically as the group began to emerge in our first production which began in 2008 with the actual production being staged in 2009. For a while what arose was a fairly traditional re telling of the final part of Jesus’ life. I was not happy with it as I felt the play lacked a dynamic. Then it came to me one rehearsal that was needed was another perspective, to work in the frame of seeing the story through the eyes of a child. In a way it was to help myself and the audience look at the life of Jesus from another view point. Children have an honesty that is precious. They ask questions. They see the world more truthfully than adults.

So I decided on the character of the boy, who is the same age as Jesus when he was found in the temple, debating knowledgeably with teachers.

The other influence when writing the play was that during the January of 2009 my Mother became seriously ill.

There was the best part of a month when I could not run rehearsals. What was wonderful was how other members of the group kept the play going. Roger was such a support to my Mother. When my Mother finally died, I was back home, heart broken. It was then I was able to use my experiences with Mum to write the final part of the play."

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Poster designed by Kevin Wilkins

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Below is a video montage of photos from the 2018 production.

Accompanied by music composed and performed by Richard McLester from his album 'The Road to Golgotha', written for the Poole Passion.

(See 'Music & Lighting' page for information on Richard).

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