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Robert Leach : Mystery plays |
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The Lichfield Mysteries The Lichfield Mysteries are selected from
the whole range of extant mystery plays, re-written and edited to exclude
wanton obscurities, but equally to revivify the medieval tone and language of
the originals, and make the whole immediate today.
They last the whole day, and have been performed every three years since Robert Leach created the inaugural performance in 1994. The year 2009 saw the sixth performance of the cycle, in what is now one of the largest community arts festivals in Europe They form the centre of the vast popular carnival, but they are structured according to the dramatic immediacy of the spiritual concerns which provide the content of the plays. The interconnections and reverberations across the cycle are many, giving the whole its typical dynamic. The cycle is divided into three parts – epic stories from the Old Testament, the more intimate Nativity, and the intensity of Christ’s passion, crucifixion and resurrection, framed by a Prologue and Epilogue. The plays are performed by discrete groups which have an autonomous existence beyond the mysteries – youth theatres, folk groups, local churches, schoolteachers, council workers, or just groups of friends. The texts are entirely controlled by the Lichfield
Mysteries, from whom permission must be sought to stage or perform them. See www.lichfieldmysteries.co.uk Plays in
the cycle: 1.Prologue Part
One : Of Heaven and Hell
and Middle Earth 2.The Creation of Heaven and
Hell 3.Adam and Eve 4.The Killing of Abel 5.Noah’s Flood 6.Abraham and Isaac 7.Exodus from Egypt 8.The Prophets Part
Two : The Getting of Grace 9.The Annunciation 10.Joseph’s Doubt 11The Nativity 12.The Shepherds 13.The Kings 14.The Slaughter of the
Innocents 15.Flight into Egypt Part
Three : Drops of Blood 16.The Entry into Jerusalem 17.The Last Supper 18.Betrayal 19.The Buffeting 20.The Dream of Pilate’s Wife 21.Jesus Before Pilate 22.The Crucifixion 23.The Burial 24.The Harrowing of Hell 25.The Resurrection 26.The Ascension 27.Epilogue : Doomsday |
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Modern Mysteries Cast : many parts; this play was originally performed by a company of 9m and 3f. This is a version of the medieval mysteries rendered
into contemporary verse, using colloquial yet heightened language, and a
large number of contemporary (i.e. medieval) songs. The staging is
deliberately fluid, to be performed in churches, halls or open spaces. Part 1 : Adam lay y-bounden Part 2 : I sing of a maiden that is matchless Part 3 : Now the green blade rises from the buried grain (from Modern Mysteries) God : I am. I was. First,
last, always. It is
my will All
should be As it
is, As I
cause it to be. All
that was – is. All
that is – shall be. I am The
word I am. What
is, What
was, What
shall be Is in
me And
from me, God
without beginning. And since
I am solemnly set in my heaven, Here,
high on my throne, I shall
cause to be made A world
of angels, And
their brightness shall reflect The
brightness of my design. |
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Modern Mysteries is available for
performance. Please contact us at
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