The risk with outdoor theatre is always the weather and after a week full of beautiful sunshine the masses congregated on the slopes of a cold, dank and down right miserable Princes Street Gardens to witness the first of a hopefully annual performance of the Easter Play. With an audience of over a thousand it is a difficult task that this largely amateur cast has in being large enough with their actions for the furthest away to be able to see, yet keeping the intimacy needed to make the gestures believable. Both are pulled of with aplomb in this production finely directed by Suzanne Lofthus.

The story follows Jesus' pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover along with his disciples, threatened by his popularity the Jewish Priests conspire against him and his followers resulting in his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection.

The only professional actor in the cast is Chris Duffy as Jesus who masterfully leads the cast through a thrilling production. His performance really does command the attention of a huge audience, displaying some excellent acting in what could have been a difficult role. The rest of the cast have been drawn together from various churches and faiths in order to celebrate the Easter festivities. Special praise must go to Stewart Graham as Andrew and Chris Purcell as Zaccheus who drove the action forward with excellent performances.

The Princes Street Easter Play Trust hope that this will be the start of an annual event and on today's performance the city council should be giving them all the aid they require. There are very few theatrical events that will see over 1000 people standing outside watching a play for over two hours in a cold and damp Edinburgh afternoon. Just imagine next year, a sunny cloudless sky, another excellent production and who knows maybe an audience of over 2000. Let's hope it becomes reality.