THE SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES Plays At Southwark Cathedral 4/22-24

The Southwark Mysteries, by Southwark writer John Constable, is a modern drama inspired by the medieval mystery plays and rooted in the history of Bankside - London's "outlaw borough".

In The Southwark Mysteries, Satan unleashes the Day of Judgement on the wicked people of Southwark, past and present. The evil one has special designs on The Goose - a prostitute licensed by the Church to work in Southwark's medieval Liberty of The Clink - and John Crow, her street-wise self-styled "prophet". All seems lost - until an unlikely Jesus shows up to reveal his radical new teaching of forgiveness.

Like the medieval mysteries, the play uses pantomime elements - music, comedy, drama and spectacle - to explore profound moral and spiritual issues. It embodies a vision of healing and forgiveness, which has earned it the steadfast support of Southwark Cathedral.

John Constable is a south London poet, playwright and performer, best known locally for his work at Crossbones, the outcasts' burial ground (www.crossbones.org.uk)
His Sha-Manic Plays, his stage adaptation of Gormenghast, The Southwark Mysteries and Secret Bankside - Walks In The Outlaw Borough are all published by Oberon Books.

Sarah Davey-Hull directed the original production of The Southwark Mysteries in 2000. Sarah has directed new writing at the Lyric Hammersmith, Shakespeare open air and abroad for The British Council and many site specific productions. She is also artistic director of bold & saucy theatre company.

The cast of this new production, brought together to mark the start of the new decade, features professional actors, an adult community cast and children from three local schools. The company is inviting celebrity actors to play the comic cameo role of "God". 

Online: www.southwarkmysteries.co.uk

or from the Cathedral Shop

Where: Southwark Cathedral, SE1 9DA

Time: 7.15 (doors at 6.45 - performances in the churchyard from 6.30)

Tickets: £20 or £15 concession
Funded by NEO Bankside, Forster, IPC Media, London South Bank University, and Southwark Council.
Supported by Southwark Cathedral, More London, Better Bankside, Allies and Morrison, Borough and Bankside Community Fund, Southwark Cyclists, STEP, Land Securities and other local businesses

The inclusion of the community cast is funded by The National Lottery through Big Lottery Fund.

Featured in the 2010 St George in Southwark Festival

SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES is a Community Arts organisation, offering creative ways for people to interact with their inner-city environment. Over the past decade the company has delivered hundreds of guided walks, drama workshops and performances.

The Liberty of the Clink dates back to 1107, when the Bishop of Winchester was granted a stretch of the Bankside, outside the law of the City of London. Here, the Bishop controlled the brothels, or ‘stews'. The ladies of The Liberty were known as ‘Winchester Geese'...
Patrons include Simon Hughes MP and Mark Rylance, former director of Shakespeare's Globe and award-winning star of Jerusalem.

In the week before the flagship performances in the Cathedral, there will be free performances of scenes from the play at The Scoop, More London, and other key Bankside locations.

The Southwark Mysteries will involve the active participation of many local residents, workers, students and traditionally marginalised groups - as cast, crew, stewards or makers. The play's central message - of "bringing in" those often shut out of society, is reflected in SOUTHWARK MYSTERIES' work with young people, the homeless and mental health charities.

 

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