One Friday in Eternity

A Play with Music By Edmund Banyard
with songs by Edmund and Stephen Banyard and Peter Casey

Written for the simplest of dramatic settings, such as a church without scenery but with a cross used as the focus for lighting and action, One Friday in Eternity has proved to be a popular and thought-provoking account of the crucifixion story. Admirers of Edmund Banyard's full-scale Passiontide play One Friday will welcome this same inspiring treatment of the Easter theme, but on a scale that requires neither elaborate preparation nor a sophisticated stage venue. The text and songs of One Friday in Eternity have been used as part of church services and as a separate dramatic presentation. A minimum of four players is required (there were five at the first performance), and the duration is approximately half-an-hour.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Since it was first produced on Good Friday 1971, One Friday in Eternity has been presented in settings varying from Cathedral to Conference Centre, from Village Church to Television Studio. The original setting was in a church with no scenery. The cross which dominated the chancel was used as a focal point for both lighting and action. The 'seven words' came from a speaker concealed beneath this cross.

There were five players, each dressed in black. All the speeches requiring a male actor were spoken by the same person who also sang the song Friday Morning. (Whilst the speaking parts may be shared there is in fact only need for two players to actually learn and speak lines.)

The Narrator, who had a full script, was placed on a rostrum and a light brought up on him for each speech in tum. The light also provided his entry cue. The Singer, together with two guitarists, was placed on the other side of the church to the Narrator. Again the light picked them out as necessary and provided their entry cue.

At the back of the church the gallery became the studio for all pre-recorded effects, the control of lighting and for the four readers (1 and 3 female, 2 and 4 male) who spoke into microphones and were heard through speakers situated in various parts of the building. The performance on that occasion took just under fifty minutes.

LIGHTING

For the original production the lighting was a mixture of conventional stage lighting with spot lights and flood lights and background lighting effects projected through a rotating polaroid sheet to give changing
colours and patterns.