''The Mysteries'' is a version of the medieval English mystery plays first presented at London's National Theatre in 1977. The cycle of three plays tells the story of the Bible from the creation to the last judgement.

Background

It is based largely on the

Wakefield cycle The Wakefield or Towneley Mystery Plays are a series of thirty-two mystery plays based on the Bible most likely performed around the Feast of Corpus Christi probably in the town of Wakefield, England during the Late Middle Ages until 1576. It is o ...

of plays (but incorporating some scenes from the

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, Chester and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

canons) and adapted by poet Tony Harrison, working with the original cast, into three parts: ''Nativity'', ''The Passion'' and ''Doomsday.'' Directed by

Bill Bryden William Campbell Rough Bryden (12 April 1942 – 5 January 2022) was a Scottish stage and film director and screenwriter. Early life and career He worked as a trainee with Scottish Television before becoming assistant director at the Belgrad ...

, it was first performed on Easter Saturday 1977 on the terrace of the National Theatre building on the South Bank, London. It then went into the repertoire in the Cottesloe Theatre (part of the South Bank complex) until 20 April 1985 when the Cottesloe went 'dark'. Later in 1985 it transferred with a slightly different cast (

Barrie Rutter Barrie Thomas Rutter OBE (born 12 December 1946) is an English actor and the founder and former artistic director of the Northern Broadsides theatre company based in Dean Clough complex, Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Biography Rutter was ...

playing Herod & Pontius Pilate, and Barry Foster as Lucifer/Judas/Satan) to the Lyceum Theatre—then in use as a ballroom and so without seating. Harrison's concept was to present the original stories as "plays-within-plays", using as his characters the naïve but pious craftsmen and guild members, to some extent modernised to represent the trades of today—God, for example, created the world with the help of a real fork-lift truck— acting out the parts of the story that their mediaeval counterparts would have done. At the start of each performance actors dressed as tradesmen welcomed the audience. The performance was a promenade one, with the audience mingling with the actors and making up the crowd at such scenes as the last judgement. The

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

reported witnessing "An extraordinary experience... no wonder the end of it all saw an explosion of communal joyousness with everybody, actors, musicians, and audience alike, cheering and clapping and singing and dancing."

Cast

Many well known actors appeared in the productions, including Brenda Blethyn,

Kenneth Cranham Kenneth Cranham (born 12 December 1944) is a Scottish film, television, radio and stage actor. Early life Cranham was born in Dunfermline, Fife, the son of Lochgelly-born Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson) and Ronald Cranham, a London-bor ...

Edna Doré Edna Lillian Doré (née Gorring; 31 May 1921 – 11 April 2014) was a British actress. She was known for her bit-part roles in sitcoms and for playing the character of Mo Butcher in '' EastEnders'' from 1988 to 1990. Career Doré began her c ...

Lynn Farleigh Marilyn J. "Lynn" Farleigh (born 3 May 1942) is an English actress of stage and screen. Early life Farleigh was born in Bath, Somerset on 3 May 1942 to Joseph Sydney Farleigh and his wife Marjorie Norah (née Clark). She attended the Redlan ...

Brian Glover Brian Glover (2 April 1934 – 24 July 1997) was an English actor and writer. He worked as a teacher and professional wrestler before commencing an acting career which included films, many roles on British television and work on the stage. His ...

(as God), Karl Johnson (as Jesus),

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

, Mark McManus,

Eve Matheson Eve Elisabeth Matheson (born March 1960) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Zoe Angell in ''May to December'' and Becky Sharp in the BBC adaptation of the novel ''Vanity Fair''. Matheson left ''May to December'' after two ...

(as Eve), Jack Shepherd and Robert Stephens (as Herod).

Cast of the 1985 National Theatre production

The Nativity The Passion Doomsday The actor and musician

John Tams John Tams (born 16 February 1949) is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician born in Holbrook, Derbyshire, the son of a publican. He first worked as a reporter for the ''Ripley & Heanor News'' later working for BBC Radio ...

and his

Home Service Home Service is a British folk rock group, formed in late 1980 from a nucleus of musicians who had been playing in Ashley Hutchings' Albion Band. Their career is generally agreed to have peaked with the album ''Alright Jack'', and has had an ...

band provided the folk music accompaniment and a selection of tracks from it was published on CD. The 1985 Cottesloe version was filmed for

Channel 4 Television Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. A revival of the cycle, again directed by Bryden and featuring some of the original cast, was chosen by the National Theatre to mark the millennium celebration in 2000.

Awards

The productions won Bill Bryden the "Best Director" title in both the

Evening Standard Theatre Awards The ''Evening Standard'' Theatre Awards, established in 1955, are the oldest theatrical awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. They are presented annually for outstanding achievements in London Theatre, and are organised by the ''Evening Standar ...

and the

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for 1985, the year the three plays first appeared together in performance at the Lyceum Theatre. Other awards were: Sydney Edwards Award for Best Director; Olivier for Designer of the Year for William Dudley; City Limits award for Best Director, and for Best Designer; Plays and Players for Best Director and Best Designer.

Background

Cast

Cast of the 1985 National Theatre production

Awards

References

Further reading and viewing