A new biopic will follow the life of Manchester pioneer
Amanda Seyfried will star as Manchester pioneer Ann Lee in a new musical biopic(Image: WireImage)
A new musical biopic will soon be hitting the big screen and, starring Amanda Seyfried, it tells the fascinating story of a lesser-known pioneer who was born and raised in Manchester.
Ann Lee may not be a familiar name to everyone, but Mona Fastvold’s new film, The Testament of Ann Lee, is set to shine a light on the life of the Manchester-born religious pioneer. While she originated from humble beginnings in the city, Ann Lee went on to be seen as a charismatic spiritual leader, who took the Shaker movement from England to America.
Born on February 23, 1736, Ann Lee was the daughter of a blacksmith and grew up in poverty near Manchester’s Christ Church of the Church of England. It is understood Lee did not fully identify with the predominant religion and so, at the age of 22, she joined a Nonconformist sect known as the Shaking Quakers – or the Shakers.
The Shakers took a different style of worship to what Lee had previously encountered within the Church of England. Unlike other sects of Protestantism, the Shakers differentiated their worship with erratic movements like shaking, dancing and singing while praying.
But after being imprisoned in 1770 at a time of religious persecution, Ann Lee became interested in a new religious idea which would go on to become the defining principle of the Shakers.
The Testament of Ann Lee, starring Amanda Seyfried, follows the life of Manchester pioneer Ann Lee (Image: WireImage)
Through a vision Ann Lee became convinced that men and women should commit to a lifetime of celibacy to achieve purity. Emerging from prison as a passionate preacher, Lee then also went on to push for the elimination of all marriages.
The pioneer also pushed for social equality, calling for everyone to be equal in society regardless of their race or gender in spite of these beliefs being discouraged by the Church of England, which led to her being called a heathen.
Due to her differing religious views, Lee felt the people of Manchester had been poisoned by the teachings of the Church of England and so, with a group of other Shakers, she set out to America with the aim of teaching her beliefs there. Arriving in America, Lee and her fellow Shakers set out on creating a new community, and purchased land in the woods of Niskayuna, in present-day New York.
The Shaker movement began to grow in America and Lee became to be known as Mother Ann. The movement did however continue to face difficulty, with an assault taking place on the Shakers in 1783 when Lee refused to allow her people to participate in war efforts.
After Lee’s death, the movement she set up continued, with her followers organising the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing – also known as the Millennial Church and the Shakers.