PL AYBILL THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK KENNETH WELSH }{
A pproxi m at e ru n ni ng t i m e: 1 hou rs & 40 m i nu t es T her e w ill be no i n t er m ission
ARTIST NOTE: KENNETH WELSH
TIDBITS
Five years ago I was standing in the very spot where I had suffered a serious accident, just on the edge of my garden when I felt a kind of epiphany inspiring me to go and read the Gospel of Mark. So I found several local churches where I went to read it, and I realized why I had wanted to offer this amazing work of mighty words. The thrill of sharing the beginnings of the Gospel of Jesus as he arose from the baptism of John and onward through the miracles and parables which challenged my brain and touched my heart. The fact that it is perhaps the first of the Gospels, and therefore even more immediate regarding the life of Christ makes it even more marvellous to me. Someday I will learn it word for word, but on this occasion I appreciate the opportunity to offer St. Mark’s Gospel as a heartfelt reading of his Holy Scripture.
• A gospel is defined as a book that
describes the life and death of Jesus.
• T hough Mark’s gospel comes
second in the New Testament – after Matthew – chronologically it’s the first of all four to have been written.
• M ark’s feast day is April 25.
His symbol is a winged lion.
Thank you for being here. KENNE TH WELSH Gospel Reader in The Gospel According to Mark s t u dio s e r i e s s p on sor
CREATIVE TEAM
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK
CAS T
Kenneth Welsh Gospel Reader
Production
Albert Schultz
Ken MacKenzie
Monika Seiler
Director
Design Consultant
Stage Manager
SOULPEPPER PRODUC T ION
Jacqueline Robertson-Cull
Stefan Dean
Greg Chambers
Head of Hair & Makeup
Cutter
Props Builder
Erika Connor
Barbara Nowakowski
Lead Wardrobe Coordinator
First Hand
special thanks: to those who came and saw it. to Albert Schultz & Soulpepper for bringing me in to read the Gospel of Mark, and lisa li for all her help. p hoto: s a n dy n ic hol son
BACKGROUND NOTES Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Bless this bed that I lay on...
S
cholars call the Gospel of St. Mark the first and most authentic biography of Jesus, in part because Mark likely got a lot of his information from Peter – yes that Peter, the disciple who, in a moment of fear and panic, denied Jesus amid the tumult around the crucifixion.
When you consider the four evangelists, it is immediately clear which one is best suited to the stage. John is too high flown and mysterious, Matthew too didactic and Luke too poetical. But Mark is a natural dramatist. His gospel is brief and full of incident: Jesus drives out demons, heals the sick, calms storms. At the same time Mark also gives us our most fully human portrait of the man from Gallilee. In the early parts of his gospel particularly, Jesus is first and foremost a man. Mark reveals a fully rounded character, capable by turns of frustration, pain, anger, humour and even sarcasm. His Jesus experiences helplessness in the face of evil and speaks sombrely about the inevitability of war and disaster. Before he embraces his mission as Messiah, we come to know him as a mortal man who gets hungry, struggles to manage his impatience and sometimes wants nothing more than a good night’s sleep. Mark is believed to have written his account in the year 64 AD but his book did not begin its theatrical career until 1978 when British actor Alec McCowen hit on the idea of bringing this foundational text to the stage. It was a masterstroke: simply telling the story as Mark wrote it has all the momentum of a great tragedy,
Background Notes by 2015 Resident Artist Paula Wing
especially in the words of the King James version, made around 1610. In a pleasing coincidence, Shakespeare was writing his last plays in this same period. It is a special joy to explore the heart of these joyful and sorrowful mysteries with Soulpepper favourite and Canadian powerhouse Kenneth Welsh. In his hands St. Mark is fresh, transcendent, and thrillingly immediate.
Biography of S t. Mark
Coptic tradition places Mark’s birthplace in Cyrene, North Africa, in what is now Libya. Most Biblical scholars believe he knew Jesus personally. Some claim that Mark was the young man who ran away naked when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14: 51-52). Others say the resurrected Christ met the apostles at Mark’s house. After Jesus’ death, Mark founded the Church of Alexandria, earning him the title of father of Christianity in Africa. Today both the Coptic and Greek Orthodox religions claim to be directly descended from his original community. Mark was martyred in 68 AD.
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