The gospel truth takes centre stage

Interview by Claire Brine

THIS Easter, Matt Britton is ticking an item off his bucket list. He has learnt by heart the entirety of Mark’s Gospel, found in the Bible, and is performing it in churches, prisons and schools across England and Wales.

‘The idea started in Christmas 2021,’ says Matt, an actor, director and writer who lives in Manchester. ‘Back then, everyone was still really frightened of catching Covid, so I thought that I wanted to spread a bit of good news. I wrote some monologues based on the characters in the Nativity story and decided to perform them in a pub in Salford.

‘Only 11 people turned up to watch me. I thought the evening was going to be a huge failure. But after I’d performed, two people from the audience came up to me and one of them said: “That gave me goosebumps.”

‘Don’t get me wrong – I don’t think anybody in the audience came to faith that night. These two guys were blind drunk. But something happened for them in that pub. And I never forgot it.’

The following Christmas, while Matt was performing in a children’s theatre show, he thought ahead to 2023 and what his next acting job might be. He remembered the two men in the pub and an idea began to develop.

‘I knew that I had always wanted to learn a large portion of Scripture off by heart, so I thought that I’d try Mark’s Gospel and present it as a one-man show,’ he says. ‘I don’t really like calling it a “performance”, because it’s not quite like that. It’s traditional storytelling where I’m recreating what Mark wrote down verbatim. There’s no set, special lighting or gimmicks. It’s just me, inhabiting the characters and seeing what happens when you allow the power of the gospel to speak for itself.’

In 90 minutes, Matt speaks aloud all 16 chapters of the Gospel of Mark, which tells the story of Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection. He explains that learning the text was a joy and a challenge.

‘I’m using the New International Version of the Gospel, and one of the things I noticed early on in my rehearsals was that Mark isn’t a playwright! He never set out to dramatise any of these stories about Jesus. Some of the key miracles – such as the feeding of the 5,000 – are just a few verses long. But even though Mark is the shortest Gospel, it works well on stage because it gets to the point. Firing off story after story means there’s no time for the audience to drift off or get bored. There’s a clear narrative and lots of action happening.’

One particular part of the action which Matt is keen to share with audiences is what happened at the very first Easter. He believes it is a story of love, betrayal, sacrifice, death and – when all hope seems lost – victory and new life. I ask him to tell me more in his own words.

‘While he has attracted a lot of followers, including his 12 disciples, he’s also had a few run-ins with the religious authorities. He’s become frustrated by their rules and traditions and how much they have been ignoring the heart of God, which is for the poor and marginalised.

‘When the religious leaders see the extent to which the Jewish people are siding with Jesus, they fear a riot. They know that they need to calm the situation down because Israel is under Roman occupation. So, they conspire to arrest Jesus and kill him.’

When the religious leaders fail to find enough evidence to convict him and put him to death, Jesus is beaten and taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.

‘Pilate finds nothing wrong in Jesus’ actions,’ Matt continues. ‘But he is scared. He doesn’t want news of a rioting crowd to get back to Rome. So he hands Jesus over to be crucified. The crowd watch as the soldiers nail him to a cross to die.

‘But then comes the beautiful part of the Easter story. Two days later, Jesus is alive. He has risen.’

To many, it sounds unbelievable. But as far as Matt is concerned, it’s not. Jesus’

‘In the run-up to Easter, Jesus has spent three years travelling from town to town, telling people about God’s love and performing miracles,’ he explains. Turn to page 6 f

After being betrayed by one of his disciples, named Judas, Jesus is taken to the Jewish council and questioned.

From page resurrection is at the heart of his Christian faith.

‘If you take away the Resurrection, the whole of Christianity collapses,’ he says. ‘Without it, Jesus is just a man who ruffled people’s feathers and ended up getting punished for it, which is a shame, but it doesn’t really affect us today.

‘But because Jesus rose to life, the story becomes about beating death. On the cross, he paid the price for our sins – all the things that separate us from our Father God. His sacrifice meant we could be forgiven. And the Resurrection means we can experience new life – not just when we get to Heaven, but starting now. God is inviting us to be in relationship with him and to become repairers of this broken world.’

‘There were lots of times when the

‘And even though Jesus was very patient with them, he reached a point of saying: “How long shall I put up with you?” It was as if he was saying: “Have you still not got it yet?”

‘I think I’ve experienced moments like that in my own life, when I’ve tried to live by faith but still had doubts and questions. I can identify with the gaps in the disciples’ knowledge and understanding.

‘For me, the real heroes of the Easter story are the women. They don’t flee the crucifixion scene. They stay at the foot of the cross. And on Easter Day, when Jesus rises, they are the first at the tomb. They’re such good friends to him.’

The scene in which a small group of women discover that Jesus is alive signals the end of Mark’s Gospel – and the end of Matt’s performance. He hopes that audiences will go home talking about Jesus and take steps to discover the impact that knowing him can have on their lives.

‘I want people to go away asking questions and feeling mesmerised by him,’ he says. ‘I want them to see the charisma that Jesus had. The tour that I’m doing isn’t about taking the Gospel and “performing” it, but it’s about getting eye contact with people and telling them: “This happened.”’ l For more information visit mattbritton.co.uk