SHE is not mentioned in the Bible, but she must have existed - and how she is to find her voice on a Scottish stage.

The role of the mother of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus in the Easter story, has been added to a new version of the Passion which is to be performed in Edinburgh.

In the play, which will performed in Princes Street Gardens at the end of March, Judas's mother, in the new version called Anna, shares her grief over the death of her son with Mary, the mother of Jesus.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Judas hangs himself after betraying Jesus to the authorities.

The Easter Play, directed by Suzanne Lofthus, was first performed in Princes Street Gardens in 2005.

In 2014, crowds of around 2,000 gathered to watch The Edinburgh Passion, a retelling of the story set in post-devolution Scotland by playwright Rob Drummond.

Last year, the production was a large-scale traditional Passion Play by Kamala Maniam.

However, this year the story has been re-written by the actors themselves.

Sally North, who plays the character of Anna, said: "In last year’s Easter Play, Suzanne encouraged us to make up a back story for our characters. I was playing a woman in the crowd, and decided I was Judas’ mother.

"He must have had a mother, after all, although she isn’t in the Bible.

"I started writing a monologue for her and the whole thing just flowed.

"I rather sheepishly showed it to Suzanne, and that was one of the things which prompted this year’s play."

She added: "Anna comes to Jerusalem, one of the group of women - mothers, wives and girlfriends - who are watching on the fringes. "When she finds out Judas has betrayed Jesus, she is confused, she doesn’t know what to make of it.

“After the crucifixion, she meets Mary, the mother of Jesus.

"By this time, we have both lost our sons, and we share that grief.

"The story of two mothers who come together with similar feelings of grief is something that might touch people.

“The Easter story doesn’t change, but we have explored the stories of a few of the people who might have been there who don’t appear in the official version. If people know the story, we hope it might make them stop and think to hear it told in a different way."

The Edinburgh Easter Play will be performed in Princes Street Gardens West on 31 March.

This year's version sees several characters, including Mary Magdalene, Simon the Zealot and Judas, help tell the story.

Ms Lofthus said: “I’m interested in some of the characters in the story whose voices are not normally heard.

"Some of the actors are very strong and have been doing the play for a long time, so I wanted them to have more input than just learning their parts from a script.

"We have devised the play in rehearsals using ideas put forward by the cast.

"We’re thinking outside the box, looking at new ways of telling the story using movement and visual imagery as well as more traditional acting."

Rev Mike Frew, chairman of the Princes Street Easter Play Trust, said: “Having a free promenade production telling the story of Jesus in Princes Street Gardens has become a popular part of Easter in Edinburgh.

"It’s important to keep telling the story, but also to find new ways of telling it, and new ways of making it come alive for a contemporary audience."