History

The Vision
In 1990, Mr Kosti Simons, producer of the Moogerah Passion Play, returned to Australia after living in Europe for fourteen years, for the express purpose of establishing a Passion Play in South East Queensland.

The vision was for the involvement of an entire community in the presentation of the Gospels, bringing together the Christian denominations and also involving non-Christians.

The vision was to create a permanent venue for the Passion Play - a purpose-built theatre incorporating a Sea of Galilee for the staging of scenes involving water and a fishing boat. The Lake Theatre is the first permanent Passion Play venue in Australia.

The vision was for a script based firmly on the Gospels, with the words of Christ unchanged from those in the Gospel records.

The original play had already been written when Mr Simons returned to Australia. It had "written itself" in a period of six weeks

The Site

The Lake Theatre is on the shores of Lake Moogerah, little more than an hour from Brisbane, Warwick or Toowoomba. As a backdrop, the mountains of the Great Dividing Range provide us with a place of rare natural beauty.

The land was acquired by the Moogerah Passion Play Assoc. Inc. in 1993, and is held on a long-term lease through Boonah Shire Council.

Development of the site was facilitated by Boonah Shire Council, whose machines created an access road, an amphitheatre which can seat 2,000, a sea of Galilee, a River Jordan and a Calvary.

Most other development has been through community support. Volunteers have created an olive grove and a palm grove, which give a sense of the Holy Land. There is a catering facility, an acting shed, a lighting shed, a platform for loud speakers, a praetorium and a dressing shed. 1999 saw the construction of a public toilet facility, with wheel chair access. Power was brought to the Theatre with the support of Energex (then SEQEB) and the lighting infrastructure was the donation of Boonah electrician, John Gill.

The Lake Theatre has proved itself to be a perfect venue, not only for the Passion Play, but also for open air concerts, including some given by symphony orchestras. It is also the home of the Fassifern Christmas Festival, held annually on the first Saturday in December.

Please note that the Lake Theatre is available to other organisations. (See "More Information" and location map)

Past Performances
1993
The inaugural season of the Moogerah Passion Play took place in September 1993, and extended over four performances. Audiences came from as far as Nowra, in NSW (a round journey of over 2,000 kilometres).

The month of September was chosen for its low rainfall, and cool preceding months for rehearsals. While many associate Passion Plays with Easter, the story of Jesus is a story to remember and celebrate all through the year.

The producer / director of the first season was Kosti Simons. The Christ-figure was played by a charismatic local dairy farmer, who, according to Passion Play tradition, must remain anonymous. The cast of over 100 was drawn from the Boonah Shire, Ipswich and Brisbane West

1994
The second season, with director Tony Barnes and producer Kosti Simons, was given in August 1994. These performances won the Boonah Shire Cultural Event of the Year Award. The Christ-figure was unchanged.

1996
Third season, Tony Barnes again directed with Kosti Simons as producer, with performances held in September. The Christ figure this year was a young computer technician from Rosewood, near Ipswich.

1999
This fourth season was offered in March, on the two weekends preceeding Easter. Producer was Kosti Simons, director Doug Moses. The Christ-figure remained unchanged.

2001
"Jesus... His Story" was a new play, a big production, written and directed by Tony Barnes. It added scenes from the Old Testament to show that Christ's birth was no accident of history. It used four contemporary young people to allow discussion of Biblical events. The Christ-figure, the same actor as in the previous two productions, was also the 'teacher'. Performances were given in October.

2003
This year was perhaps a watershed in the life of The Moogerah Passion Play. Prayer direction indicated free admission, sponsorship from churches, a slight simplification of language and, for those who wanted something more, post-performance ministry. 2,500 people came to see the three Easter performances.

Another first saw two performances (a shortened version of the play) given in Ipswich on Easter Monday.

The play, called "He's Alive!!!", focussed on the excitement of knowing that Jesus is with us. A youthful Mary Magdalene, a group of children, and a cast of 80, gave out the Good News.

2004
Once again "He's Alive!!!" drew large audiences and generated an excited response. Three free performances were given at the Lake Theatre, and in a history-making first, the complete production was transferred to a new location - Springfield Lakes. Again, two abbreviated performances were given at the Ipswich Monday Funday, where some 18,000 people arrived for a day in the park.

Direction was by Alan Purvis and Kosti Simons. The role of Christ was played by a resident of West Lakes.