Passers-by might have been excused for thinking flower power had taken over St Andrew's Cathedral in March.

An idyllic garden replaced pews; the pulpit was transformed into the shape of a tree; teenagers ran around in kaftans and flared jeans.

Over four breathtaking nights the talented students of the Cathedral School performed one of the biggest Broadway musicals of all time, Godspell, to sell-out crowds.

The allegory based on Matthew's gospel uses ten clowns to tell the story of the life of Jesus.

About 100 students took part in the production, which took only four months to bring to the stage. It was the first time the Cathedral has been used for such a purpose.

Principal Phillip Heath defended the "controversial' choice of location.

"I am very sensitive to the feelings that some may have that the building is a sacred space and therefore ought not be desecrated by the staging of popular entertainment and by the removal of…liturgical furniture," he wrote, but said cathedrals are "a place for people to meet together as well as to meet God'.