2 weeks Ago
Historic theatre group, the York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust, is planning to stage A Nativity for York in November and December – and has launched a search for a new director to lead the community production. The hour-long show tells the story of events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ with text taken from the York Cycle of Mystery Plays and brings the Christmas story to York neighbourhoods. The director will be paid £1,000 to create a new vision, using the Mystery Plays text, and develop a team of actors and production crew, supported by the Trust.
The Trust plans to stage the play in three venues: one in the city centre and two in York’s suburbs, bringing the Christmas story, as told in the Mystery Plays, to local residents and visitors. This will be the fourth production from the Nativity cycle staged by the Trust and builds on the successful tour in 2024 when seven performances were held in The Tithe Barn at Nether Poppleton, St James the Deacon church hall in Acomb and St Oswalds church hall in Fulford. The first production was staged in 2019 at the Spurriergate Centre in the city centre and drew an audience of more than 500.
YMPST is a historic group that cycles through 48 individual plays and pageants covering biblical events, from the original Creation tale through to The Last Judgement. The first recorded performance dates back to 1376, with local trade groups historically taking responsibility for each play. The group was revived in 1951 for the Festival of Britain, with a crowd of 26,000, including then Prime Minister Clement Attlee, and is the most well-preserved cycle of mystery plays in the nation.
The group has involved professional and amateur actors alike since its resurrection, including a young Judi Dench. In recent years, these productions have taken place in multiple locations across the city, including York Minister and the shadow of St Mary’s Abbey. Anyone interested in directing the production can obtain an information pack from Emily.
[email protected].
The deadline applications is midnight on Sunday 11 May 2025..
