Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross. In the script published in 2011, his scene belongs to the Second Fall. This placement should not automatically be applied to every period of the Procession.
The Choosing of the “Volunteer”
On p. 126 of the script, a tormentor seeks someone strong enough to carry the cross and offers Simon payment. His stated aim is to prevent Jesus from dying before reaching Calvary. The stage direction’s word “volunteer” therefore coexists with the tormentors’ initiative and pressure. See also: The Jews.
The offered payment belongs to the scene’s dialogue. It does not establish how performers were paid or selected in real life.
A Contrast of Feelings
Simon weighs the cross and considers the payment small, but accepts out of pity for Jesus. The dialogue contrasts the tormentors’ intention with Simon’s compassion.
Once Simon takes the cross, the procession resumes. The stage direction says that the theatrical Jewish characters surround Jesus, push him and insult him. In the Third Fall of the same script, Jesus carries the cross again: Simon’s assistance should not be presented as continuous until the ending.
Symbolism and Presence
In a Christian reading, the character may represent assistance offered to someone who suffers. The local text shows how the tormentors’ initiative prompts a compassionate response from Simon.
For this reason, his journey alongside Jesus, helping to bear the weight of the sentence, is one of the most powerful images of Maundy Thursday.
From the Third to the Second Fall
Serrà places Simon’s assistance in the Third Fall in her description of 1996 (p. 104). The 2011 script places it in the second, after the Daughters of Jerusalem (pp. 126–127). This documents a difference between versions without, by itself, establishing when the change was implemented or who decided it.
Sources and versions
Màriam Serrà, Verges i la processó que no es veu (1998), p. 104 (account of 1996); La processó de Verges. Text de l’obra (2011), pp. 126–127 and Third Fall, p. 129.
