Easter passion play held in Liverpool shopping centre

Passion plays depict the Biblical story of Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection

About 100 people have taken part in a retelling of the Easter story in a shopping centre in a bid to reach people "in their daily lives".

Volunteers performed at Belle Vale Shopping Centre in Liverpool after rehearsing through Lent.

It followed the medieval tradition of passion plays, depicting the Biblical story of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Father Stephen Pritchard said: "For hundreds of years, we went on to marketplaces and we've lost that."

The priest, who leads services at the nearby Our Lady of the Assumption church, said they wanted to revive the tradition by "bringing the message of Easter to where people are in their daily lives".

The performance, which featured live music and dance, was staged by a professional production company and performed by volunteers from local churches and schools.

Matthew Christian Roche, who played the role of Jesus, said: "Rather than preaching or ramming it down people's throats, this allows people to connect and feel what we feel in a way they can make their own minds up.

"It brings a modern-day understanding of what happened 2,000 years ago."