The passion in Port Talbot – in pictures

He has famously portrayed Tony Blair, David Frost and Brian Clough. But last weekend actor Michael Sheen faced what looked like his toughest role yet: the Christ-like protagonist in an updated passion play that unfolded over 72 hours in his hometown of Port Talbot, south Wales. The production, which drafted in 1,000 local people and local heroes Manic Street Preachers, was “imaginative, bewildering and weird” according to the Times, while the Guardian’s Lyn Gardner gave it five stars after seeing a town “discovering its voice through a shared act of creation”.
Here, the Teacher, played by Michael Sheen, is led on to the stage for the trial scene ... Photograph: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency

Michael Sheen carries a cross as part of the procession in day three of the play. Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA

The Teacher is crucified. The three-day long play, performed in locations across Port Talbot, was not a retelling of the Easter story, but ended with Michael Sheen's character being crucified on a roundabout in the town. Photograph: BEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images

Di Botcher as the Mother tends to the Teacher's wounds on the final day of the play. Photograph: Donald Cooper/Photostage