Review: CHESTER MYSTERY PLAYS, Chester Cathedral

Once every five years, hundreds of people perform The Mystery Plays in the historic city of Chester - enacting seventeen stories from the bible, including Creation and Fall, The Last Supper and The Judgement.

Originally performed in Chester as early as 1375, The Mystery Plays have been performed every five years in the city since 1951, with a cast of 150 actors, singers and musicians of all ages staging the 2023 production in the historic setting of the city’s beautiful cathedral.

Artistic director John Young said in the programme’s production notes that he wanted the audience to feel that the stories were “happening right in front of their eyes,” and The Chester Mystery Plays achieves exactly that.

Staged in the traverse, the cast use the entire space of Jess Curtis’ nave-based set within Chester cathedral to excellent effect. Performed at both ends of the nave, giving the audience a clear view of the performance no matter where they were sat, with the cast also appearing on the purpose built staging behind the audience too, which further immerses you in each scene.

Adapted by John Young from Edward Burns’ 1987 script, this version of The Chester Mystery Plays is some of the most spectacular storytelling I have ever witnessed in a theatre production.

During the story of Noah’s flood, actors form the front end of the arc using large pieces of wood, before a dozen performers dressed in blue costumes enter from each side of the stage and sway their bodies up and down as they carry a wooden boat. Movement director Emma Briggs’ choreography combined with Kieran Lucas’ sound design, including the FX of crashing waves, cleverly brings the story to life.

From the cast moving a giant snake from one end of the cathedral to the other during the story of Adam and Eve, to a long table cloth being unfolded onto the floor during the story of The Last Supper, the carefully crafted staging allows the narrative arc to move seamlessly from one story to the next. The audience’s attention constantly moves from the performers beneath the sunburst arch at one end of the nave, to the actors beneath the stained glass windows at the other, which paces the production well.

There are also many stand-out performances from the cast - including Duncan Crompton as Jesus. During the story of The Healing, Crompton stands on top of metal stairs as Jesus speaks to the crowd. Duncan continually turns to face each section of the audience with his performance constantly engaging you in every scene.

He is surrounded by a pitch perfect ensemble of singers performing music composed by the talented Matt Baker, who has worked on The Chester Mystery Plays previously. Matt’s compositions framed each story well, while the sound of an incredible choir behind the stage heightened the emotions of each scene.

During the story of Cain and Abel, harmonies from the choir emphasise the mother’s feeling of sadness as she cradled her son Abel following his death.

There were many emotional and sobering moments in production, including the mothers crying out in sadness during the story of Magi and The Innocents, following the death of their children by King Herod’s orders. 

Other notable performances include Sarah France’s Lucifer, who appears to snarl as she delivered each line throughout the production.

The Chester Mystery Plays is a spectacular three hour production, performed by a talented cast of hundreds that showcases the incredible work of community theatre. It brings people of all ages together to deliver a phenomenal production that audiences will want to see again and again.

Chester Mystery Plays is at Chester Cathedral until 15 July

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith

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