What are the English Mystery Plays?
It is a commonly held academic notion that Shakespeare must have been influenced by the Mysteries that he undoubtedly saw as a child and young man.
Mystery Plays were originally performed in church in the Middle Ages as embellishments of formal rituals and gradually moved from the church to the churchyard and marketplace and temporary stages.
In 1210, when a papal edict forbade the clergy from appearing on stage in public, the Mystery Plays began to be performed by local trade guilds who elaborated the scripts and developed the dramatic elements. These guilds were called 'Mysterium', hence the term 'Mystery' plays.
The plays grew over the following centuries into huge pageants. Some Cycles had as many as 40 plays and would take many days to perform. Some academics cite plays starting at 4.30am and, following several performances around the town on a cart, the exhausted players would finish by torchlight at midnight.
Many cycles became epic and the countless generations of anonymous writers introduced comical and discourteous themes into their work. For example, a Mrs Noah who won't get into the ark until she is beaten, a drunken Noah who curses at his neighbours, and a sheep stealer who brings high farce to the shepherds scene in the nativity.
Inevitably, many clerics threw the errant plays and players out of their churchyards and, as the Reformation arrived, the plays - seen as Catholic devices - lost some of their popularity and momentum.
It is recorded that Elizabeth's spymaster, Walsingham, insisted that all scripts (such as they were) should be handed into local authorities for censorship against papist doctrine and other anti-liturgical content. It is believed that hundreds, if not thousands, of scripts were promptly burned.
Four cycles - or part cycles - did, however, survive. York, Wakefield, Chester and the oddly named, 'N - Town' plays are believed to be the only remaining 15th century sets of mystery plays in existence.
English mystery plays enjoyed a renaissance of sorts when they returned to the English stage during The Festival of Britain in 1951.York and Coventry have performed regular cycles during the past 50 years. Tony Harrison's 1985 National Theatre production 'The Mysteries' led to a revival in Mystery Play interest in England and around the world.
Mystery Plays hit the headlines in February 2008, when one of Britain's most respected and popular actresses Dame Judi Dench was appointed as the first official patron of the York Youth Mysteries 2008. Born and raised in York, Dame Judi took part in three productions of the Mystery Plays herself in the 1950 and performed as the Virgin Mary in the 1957 production in the Museum Gardens.
This summer The English Mystery Plays at Monk Bretton Priory offers audiences the chance to see the only traditional outdoor mystery plays to be performed anywhere in the UK in 2009.
