York Festival and Mystery Plays

York Festival and Mystery Plays

July during even-numbered yearsFrom 1350 until 1570, a series of "mystery plays"—dramas recounting the story of mankind from the Creation to the Last Judgment—were produced in the city of York, England, on Corpus Christi by the medieval craft guilds. The event was revived in 1951. Since 1998 the plays have been staged on wagons, as they were in medieval times, which move to different sites within the city as they are performed. The York Early Music Festival, which takes place annually, incorporates the mystery plays into its program during even-numbered years.
CONTACTS:
The National Centre for Early Music, York Early Music Foundation
St. Margaret's Church
Off Walmage
York, Y01 9TL United Kingdom
44-19-0463-2220; fax: 44-90-0461-2631
www.ncem.co.uk
SOURCES:
GdWrldFest-1985, p. 97
IntlThFolk-1979, p. 181
MusFestEurBrit-1980, p. 64