St. Matthew Passion at the Royal National Theatre: worth a watch!

On now at the Royal National Theatre, South Bank

A friend of mine got hold of two tickets for the production of St. Matthew Passion at the Royal National Theatre, South Bank. The music is by none other than Johann Sebastian Bach and the english translation compiled by Paul Goodwin. The following is from the Royal National Theatre's website:

Jonathan Miller’s staging of Bach’s St Matthew Passion will be performed in collaboration with the Southbank Sinfonia. 

Bach’s Passion is presented in two parts and retells the dramatic story of the events leading to Christ’s crucifixion. Part one includes the last supper and the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, while part two depicts His trial, crucifixion and burial. 

Jonathan Miller strips away all traditional performance conventions of this sacred work: it is sung, in a new English translation by the conductor Paul Goodwin, by soloists and a choir – all casually dressed – who interact with the full orchestra of musicians. The result is a production conveying the full power and overwhelming drama of Bach’s final and most revered Passion.

I stayed only till the intermission as my friend was particularly sleepy and kept falling asleep during the performance! I did find it quite amusing that he woke up at one point just when Jesus was rebuking his disciples for not being able to stay awake! I have now nicknamed my friend 'the sleepy disciple'.

Tickets are from as low as £12 and cost a maximum of £30. If you're looking for something inexpensive to do in the capital, you could do worse than watch this.

Benedicite.