IF it wasn't for firefighters recreating the rain, the residents of Harpurhey could have been forgiven for imagining that God had once again instructed a man named Noah to build a magnificent ark before seeking refuge from a terrible flood.

Instead, the scene marked one of the most dramatic moments in a project aimed at recreating the days, 500 years ago, when communities would come together once a year to stage their very own medieval mystery play.

These mystery plays, or miracle plays, based on stories from the bible were a way of celebrating God in a God-fearing world.

It was intended as life-affirming entertainment for, and by, a whole community. Would it work in a much-maligned suburb of modern Manchester? The answer, it seems, is yes.

Miracle On The Estate, to be shown on BBC1 tomorrow, marks the culmination of a 40-day project which saw residents of Harpurhey, north Manchester, join forces with poet Michael Symmons Roberts, composer James Atherton and television director Chris Salt. The film documents the production from auditions to final cut, with contributions from the Bishop of Manchester.

Programme maker, Salt, 48, says he was astonished to find so much talent and passion among the ordinary people of Harpurhey.

"The story had modern day elements, in terms of what we are doing to the planet and the impact of global warming," he says.

"But we had possibly the driest February on record and so you could say that God wasn't really on our side. That was where the local fire brigade came in."

A cast of more than 20, aged between 17 and 83, was selected from locals who were invited to attend auditions at the Harpurhey community centre.

Instead of constructing a boat, "Noah" and his family constructed a refuge within the confines of the Ark Royal pub, which, coincidentally, was undergoing refurbishment at the hands of an African church group and provided a suitable building site backdrop.

Primary school children were asked to create the sounds of the animals which we hear, but never see, while some of the artwork for the project was supplied by students at Mancat's Moston campus.

While the cast laughed and played together, Salt says there were serious messages: "There was a mixture of people who were religious and those who simply thought it was a good story and wanted to get involved.

"The most important thing for me was that the community had to be at the centre of the project, which I don't feel happened with the BBC's Manchester Passion programme, or with the Liverpool Nativity.

"It is hard to get this kind of project on to television, but I think it is exactly the kind of thing which the BBC should be doing.

"And we didn't skirt around the difficult issues, either. The flip-side of the good story was the suggestion that all of the sinners of Harpurhey would be lost to the flood. We wanted to explore what it was like for Noah to be sending people to their death.

"There are things in life which are unfair. It's a matter of overcoming that.

"Things aren't fair, but what is important is what you do about it.

"That is true of many of the things which are described as God's acts, be they tsunami, or what happened in America on 9-11. It's a sad story."

Among local performers was God himself, played by Joe Kiwani, who was revealed to the people through car stereos and radios.

Alice Campbell, 83, played Noah's mother and says she was attracted to the production because she enjoys company.

"It was only a small part but it was good to be involved," she says. "I'd become stale if I didn't find new things to do and I thoroughly enjoyed doing it."

The honour of playing Noah went to unemployed panel beater Steve Booth, who learned about the project from the people at Harpurhey community centre, where he works as a volunteer. As well as performing in a band called Me, Steve, 50, is a member of the Moston Active Drama society but was still surprised to be named in the leading role.

"It wasn't really hard work because it was so much fun and the guys from the BBC were real grafters," he says. "They had only 40 days to put together the whole thing, compose the music and write the songs, but they pulled it off.

"Everyone involved gave it 110 per cent and it was amazing to see the finished production when they held a premiere at the community centre.

"I didn't think of it as me on the screen, I thought of it as Noah."

Steve hopes that the project might help to change preconceptions of Harpurhey and adds: "I'm led to believe that it's the worst place in the country to live, but that's not how I know it. It's really friendly and what you see is what you get."

Steve, whose son Jake also appears in Miracle On The Estate as Noah's son, says that although the Flood story had some dark moments, there was a happy ending.

"What happens is sad, but at the end you see Noah back on the allotment tending his vegetables and trying to make a fresh start. That's what life's like."

Miracle on the Estate is on BBC1 tomorrow at 9am.

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