Mystery Plays
World history through medieval eyes
The York Mystery Plays are a series of dramatic episodes in verse depicting stories from the bible and dating from the late 1300s.
They were originally put on by the craft guilds of Medieval York, who travelled round the city and acted the scenes from carts in the open air.
Each guild depicted a scene, ranging from Adam & Eve and the Creation through the Crucifixion to the the Day of Judgement. There are around ten such scenes in the modern version of the plays.
In 1569 the plays were banned by the Tudors, but rediscovered in the nineteenth century. From the 20th century on, a version of the plays is generally performed every few years, in the summer. They are staged either in the open air or in the Minster.
They are now a regular part of the York calendar. The language is adapted from the original Middle English texts, but university students often perform one play in the original language.
The mobile venues are sometimes replaced by a fixed stage, such as in Museum Gardens (eg. 2012) or the Minster (2016) or from wagons in the street (2018).
The players are mainly local amateurs, with professionals in leading roles, however. Some local players even go on to be professionals (e.g. Judi Dench).