MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC will celebrate Easter, a significant event in the Christian calendar, next month.
It will take viewers and listeners from traditional worship through to a modern interpretation of the Passion of Christ; a forensic examination of history's most noteworthy religious paintings and an emotional return to the communities blighted by the Balkan War.
Live from Manchester city centre on Good Friday 14 April, Keith Allen presents a contemporary re-telling of the last few hours of Jesus' life for BBC Three. Manchester Passion tells the Easter story through the music of Manchester, including classic sounds such as New Order's Blue Monday and Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now by The Smiths.
In The Private Life of An Easter Masterpiece on BBC Two, three great paintings - The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci; Salvador Dali's The Christ of St John of the Cross and Resurrection by Piero della Francesca – are forensically examined and explained. Each programme shows how particular techniques have been mastered by the artist, how complex ideas are conveyed to the viewer and how each work is a unique reflection of its own life and times.
In The Cross and the Bomb (Good Friday Liturgy on Radio 4) the Bishop of London, Rev Richard Chartres, reflects on religious conflict in the context of Jesus' Passion on the Cross. The programme comes from St Ethelburga's – the medieval city church nearly destroyed by the Bishopsgate bomb in 1993 and rebuilt as an innovative Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. Set against the backdrop of the recent terrorist attacks in London, this is a powerful and thought-provoking meditation.
Greater Love Hath No Man on BBC One explores the impact of the Great Plague on one small village in Derbyshire. The plague was transported to Eyam from London in 1665 and claimed its first victim soon after. As the devastating disease took hold, the villagers isolated themselves to protect the surrounding village communities. Their self-sacrifice saved thousands of lives and is a fitting theme for Good Friday.
