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Gospel drama returns to Norfolk by popular demand

Gospel drama looking for Norfolk venues

Back by popular demand, Stefan Smart is again looking for Norfolk venues for his acclaimed theatrical retelling of Mark’s Gospel

Stefan Smart has been touring the world with his production since 2018 and has performed I AM MARK in hundreds of churches and other venues across the globe, including three runs at the Edinburgh Fringe one of which was a sell out.  In 2023 he headed to Norfolk for performances at Saxlingham Nethergate Chapel, Diss United Reformed Church, Lighthouse Community Church in Sherringham and Norwich Citadel Salvation Army. Now Stefan is again offering Norfolk churches the opportunity to host a performance of his dramatic retelling

I AM MARK recreates for modern audiences what it must have been like for the first hearers of Mark’s Gospel. Not simply a recital, it’s a full-bodied drama, enacted by a single narrator, with all of Mark’s characters, events and layers of meaning brought startlingly to life

At £500 per performance the production benefits from being relatively inexpensive and very easy to stage. All Stefan needs is a space to perform in. The rest, he says, is up to the Holy Spirit! He currently has availability in July and December in 2024 and any time during the first four months of 2025 up to Easter Day

Stefan comments: “The story will doubtless not only bless Christians. It’s also a golden opportunity to invite friends and neighbours to an entertaining theatrical event, which is at once both non-threatening and thought-provoking

“Always the response is warmly enthusiastic, sometimes extraordinarily so. Epithets such as ‘spellbinding’, ’I was actually there’, ‘stunning’ and… ‘you could hear a pin drop’ are frequently on people’s lips”

Stefan explains, “Years ago I had a big dream, a dream which is actually coming true…I imagined taking one of the greatest stories ever told, the Gospel of Mark, and performing it as it was originally intended – live and in one sitting. I AM MARK is the resulting solo performance.

“I’ve already had the privilege to take it to Speakers’ Corners all over the UK, to a whole range of churches, cathedrals, conferences and schools here and abroad, as well as into prisons. I AM MARK has sold out to venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and now it is even available on global TV station CMAX”

Praise for Stefan’s production has been plentiful: “Sometimes it takes a living voice, like this one, to make you hear the Bible for the first time” noted the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. Brad Jersak author of ‘A More Christlike God’ called it “a profound and beautiful experience” and BBC Songs of Praise commented: “Respect! Stefan’s performance was very strong”

You can watch a sample of Stefan performing I AM MARK below

Photo and video courtesy of Stefan Smart