WOODSTOCK town square is usually filled with tourists and shoppers but it was the scene of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion on Sunday.

About 1,000 people turned out to watch the community production of The Woodstock Passion, a retelling of the Easter story to celebrate Palm Sunday.

It included more than 70 amateur costumed actors and backstage volunteers, who had prepared for three months.

The show took place in the town centre and the Oxfordshire Museum gardens.

Thomas Panton, lead singer of local band The Kites, played Jesus.

Witney Gazette:

The Last Supper, in the garden of the Oxfordshire Museum

Director Katie Read said: “We have good community spirit and people like to take part in something theatrical.

“It was really good to see how many people were interested, including a lot of children.”

Mrs Read, a former professional theatre director from Woodstock, said she originally planned to hire a professional actor to play Jesus but praised Mr Panton’s performance.

Witney Gazette:

The main stage in the Market Square

She added: “It was different for me doing a community project but it was brilliant to do because of their enthusiasm.

“The difficulty was we couldn’t rehearse in situ properly. We tried the morning before but there was a lot of traffic and people there.

Witney Gazette:

Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem

“Essentially, the main performance was the first time we had done it properly. Considering they were amateur actors they responded brilliantly.”