Formal drama emerged in Britain by and for the church, perhaps to gain the interest of the common people. The medieval church did anything to attract congregants’ attention; they added sculptures, painted altarpieces, wall frescoes, crucifixes, stained glass windows and organised short biblical enactments.
The History of Drama showed how sections of the Mass were elaborated until they became short liturgical dramas. The Easter trope, for example, showed a short liturgical play with characters, additional dialogue, set, props and costumes. A similar trope developed for Christmas, with the manger replacing the sepulchre and the shepherds greeting the Christ child replacing the three Marys. The sighting of the star and the adoration of the wise men provided a drama for Twelfth Day. These tropes were performed in Latin, utilising church vestments and church music.
Eventually difficult religious subjects, along with the growing length and complexity of the plays, may have encouraged the development of more elaborate plays than legitimately fell within the liturgy. Thus the tropes may have turned into the Mystery Plays.
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While the liturgical plays may have influenced the content of the Mystery Plays, we can see other influences in the well-established tradition of processions, dances, mummings and folk plays. In Britain these were included in festivities like May Day, Midsummer Day and Christmas. The performances were in English, utilised secular costumes created especially for the play, and were staged in the town squares and great halls by amateur players. The dramas incorporated ancient folk stories, Christian elements and traditional songs.
With the separation of the plays from the church, the primary goal became entertainment, although the story remained largely Biblical. Comedy and believable characters became essential parts of the plays. Realistic conversation was integrated into the play, as well as hilarious or rough language. Characters were developed for comic relief, dramatic effect or to create sympathy.
The plays were performed in a cycle. The first play was The Creation and the Fall of Satan, and the total set of plays would contain all the major scenes from the Bible, shown chronologically. The idea of forming the plays into cycles may have developed alongside the Feast of Corpus Christi, celebrating the redemptive power of Christ through the miracle of the Host. The feast allowed for processions, celebrations and religious plays.
As these Mystery Plays became more complex and popular, and required elaborate sets, cramming the audience to the back of a room became difficult. This forced the church to move the plays outdoors, into the churchyard or the public square. The performances were combined and held annually, the presentation occurring on the 2-3 days before Corpus Christi. Presented in English, the peak of the Mystery Plays was from 1375-1575.
The cycles were still about the betrayal, death and resurrection of Christ, but Corpus Christi also became the occasion for trade fairs in the towns that hosted the performances; many of the trade guilds assumed an important role in the production of the plays. The overall organisation of the production was probably handled by a religious guild, but the local craft guilds contributed to the staging by creating the pageant wagons used for sets, props and actors.
Manuscripts survive for only four complete cycles in English (York, Chester, Wakefield and a Midlands town, possibly Coventry), but it seems likely that the production of Mystery Plays in Britain was widespread. The four complete cycles together show the development of the cycles. The York cycle contained 47 plays, dating from as early as 1378, but with many later revisions. At Chester, a play was performed as early as 1375, and by 1467 eight guilds were involved in productions. More guilds gradually participated between 1500 and 1540. The cycle at Coventry seemed to have been compiled from existing plays, and was similar to the other cycles in content.
The pageant wagons were the best stages for the Mystery Plays, each wagon contained one complete set for a play. The wagons were paraded through the streets at the beginning of the festival and then located in the town square. The audience could shift its focus from pageant to pageant as the cycle of plays unfolded. Alternately, the wagons may have been moved into place as required for the various plays. The dark space under the cart was used as the dressing room. To the audience, it must have seemed like a huge, outdoor entertainment!
Animal characters were often played by men in appropriate costumes. Scenes of torture or martyrdom were achieved by a variety of effects, including clever methods for putting dressmaker's dummies in place of live actors during the action. Noah’s Flood used spectacular painted cloth, all wet. Copper sheets and rotating casks of stones provided thunder. Basins were provided for baptismal scenes.
Productions of the mystery cycles died out in the mid-C16th. Because of their association with popery, the playing of the mysteries was discouraged after the Protestant Reformation. Some plays were subjected to censorship, and because the productions were expensive, financial considerations also helped end their runs. In any case, the plays were formally banned when Queen Elizabeth I came on the throne in 1558. Only Chester's cycle continued being performed until 1575, just after William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
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So why is Oberammergau in Bavaria so famous? The town (pop 5000) on the river Ammer is best known for its Passion Play, presented during the first year of every decade. Originating in 1634, AFTER the English Mystery Plays had been closed down, the German passion play fulfilled a vow by the towns people to present a play depicting the Passion of Christ, if only God would end an appalling plague. God did!
In 1871 a special performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play was held in honour of King Ludwig II. The king was so moved that he donated a monumental crucifixion sculpture, having chosen the material, artist and location for the monument himself. The completed sculpture arrived in 1875 and was unveiled in front of royalty. For three years King Ludwig returned to the Crucifixion Group to pay respect and to offer silent prayer.
The Oberammergau play had dramatic text, singers and music, expanding on scenes from the Old Testament depicted for the audience by motionless actors. These scenes displayed the links between the two Testaments. So this small town needed a very special theatre, built in 1890 and modernised since. It has 4,800 seats for viewers, and space for 1,500 local people to participate on the stage.
If you happen to be in Oberammergau during the play years (2000, 2010, 2020), get a seat early as they expect half a million visitors each time. But be realistic - the Oberammergau play has a running time of 7 hours, broken up for dinner. In years when the play is not on, visitors are allowed in to see back stage, the props and costumes.
The History of Drama showed how sections of the Mass were elaborated until they became short liturgical dramas. The Easter trope, for example, showed a short liturgical play with characters, additional dialogue, set, props and costumes. A similar trope developed for Christmas, with the manger replacing the sepulchre and the shepherds greeting the Christ child replacing the three Marys. The sighting of the star and the adoration of the wise men provided a drama for Twelfth Day. These tropes were performed in Latin, utilising church vestments and church music.
Eventually difficult religious subjects, along with the growing length and complexity of the plays, may have encouraged the development of more elaborate plays than legitimately fell within the liturgy. Thus the tropes may have turned into the Mystery Plays.
York Mystery Play, UK
Photo credit: One&Other, York
While the liturgical plays may have influenced the content of the Mystery Plays, we can see other influences in the well-established tradition of processions, dances, mummings and folk plays. In Britain these were included in festivities like May Day, Midsummer Day and Christmas. The performances were in English, utilised secular costumes created especially for the play, and were staged in the town squares and great halls by amateur players. The dramas incorporated ancient folk stories, Christian elements and traditional songs.
With the separation of the plays from the church, the primary goal became entertainment, although the story remained largely Biblical. Comedy and believable characters became essential parts of the plays. Realistic conversation was integrated into the play, as well as hilarious or rough language. Characters were developed for comic relief, dramatic effect or to create sympathy.
The plays were performed in a cycle. The first play was The Creation and the Fall of Satan, and the total set of plays would contain all the major scenes from the Bible, shown chronologically. The idea of forming the plays into cycles may have developed alongside the Feast of Corpus Christi, celebrating the redemptive power of Christ through the miracle of the Host. The feast allowed for processions, celebrations and religious plays.
As these Mystery Plays became more complex and popular, and required elaborate sets, cramming the audience to the back of a room became difficult. This forced the church to move the plays outdoors, into the churchyard or the public square. The performances were combined and held annually, the presentation occurring on the 2-3 days before Corpus Christi. Presented in English, the peak of the Mystery Plays was from 1375-1575.
The cycles were still about the betrayal, death and resurrection of Christ, but Corpus Christi also became the occasion for trade fairs in the towns that hosted the performances; many of the trade guilds assumed an important role in the production of the plays. The overall organisation of the production was probably handled by a religious guild, but the local craft guilds contributed to the staging by creating the pageant wagons used for sets, props and actors.
Manuscripts survive for only four complete cycles in English (York, Chester, Wakefield and a Midlands town, possibly Coventry), but it seems likely that the production of Mystery Plays in Britain was widespread. The four complete cycles together show the development of the cycles. The York cycle contained 47 plays, dating from as early as 1378, but with many later revisions. At Chester, a play was performed as early as 1375, and by 1467 eight guilds were involved in productions. More guilds gradually participated between 1500 and 1540. The cycle at Coventry seemed to have been compiled from existing plays, and was similar to the other cycles in content.
The pageant wagons were the best stages for the Mystery Plays, each wagon contained one complete set for a play. The wagons were paraded through the streets at the beginning of the festival and then located in the town square. The audience could shift its focus from pageant to pageant as the cycle of plays unfolded. Alternately, the wagons may have been moved into place as required for the various plays. The dark space under the cart was used as the dressing room. To the audience, it must have seemed like a huge, outdoor entertainment!
Animal characters were often played by men in appropriate costumes. Scenes of torture or martyrdom were achieved by a variety of effects, including clever methods for putting dressmaker's dummies in place of live actors during the action. Noah’s Flood used spectacular painted cloth, all wet. Copper sheets and rotating casks of stones provided thunder. Basins were provided for baptismal scenes.
Productions of the mystery cycles died out in the mid-C16th. Because of their association with popery, the playing of the mysteries was discouraged after the Protestant Reformation. Some plays were subjected to censorship, and because the productions were expensive, financial considerations also helped end their runs. In any case, the plays were formally banned when Queen Elizabeth I came on the throne in 1558. Only Chester's cycle continued being performed until 1575, just after William Shakespeare was born in 1564.
But the Catholic Church also called for an end to religious plays at the Council of Trent, because they believed the plays were secular and anti-clerical!! What a shock for Catholic France... where the Mystery Plays had been so popular.
Professional travelling companies began touring the British country-side, using the guild hall in Stratford during the later 16th century - young William Shakespeare saw them! And we have to note the construction date of the first facility housing a professional theatre company in London: 1576. The timing seems irresistible.
The Mystery Plays were not performed again in Chester and York until the Festival of Britain in 1951. In 1987 Chester Mystery Plays became a registered charity which guaranteed to promote and produce the Chester Mystery Plays at five-yearly intervals. In 2004 medieval mystery plays were being revived at Canterbury Cathedral, starring actors Edward Woodward as God and Daniel MacPherson as Jesus, joined by a cast of 100 local people.
Professional travelling companies began touring the British country-side, using the guild hall in Stratford during the later 16th century - young William Shakespeare saw them! And we have to note the construction date of the first facility housing a professional theatre company in London: 1576. The timing seems irresistible.
The Mystery Plays were not performed again in Chester and York until the Festival of Britain in 1951. In 1987 Chester Mystery Plays became a registered charity which guaranteed to promote and produce the Chester Mystery Plays at five-yearly intervals. In 2004 medieval mystery plays were being revived at Canterbury Cathedral, starring actors Edward Woodward as God and Daniel MacPherson as Jesus, joined by a cast of 100 local people.
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In Germany, religious drama for the ordinary citizens may not have developed on as imposing a scale as it did in England or France. Nonetheless the oldest Easter-play wholly in German dates right back to the early C13th and other New Testament themes were popular during the C14th and C15th. Tragedy only struck with the Protestant Reformation, as it did in Britain. In Germany's Protestant principalities, at least, the Reformation ended any medieval religious drama that used to be produced.
In Germany, religious drama for the ordinary citizens may not have developed on as imposing a scale as it did in England or France. Nonetheless the oldest Easter-play wholly in German dates right back to the early C13th and other New Testament themes were popular during the C14th and C15th. Tragedy only struck with the Protestant Reformation, as it did in Britain. In Germany's Protestant principalities, at least, the Reformation ended any medieval religious drama that used to be produced.
Oberammergau theatre, Germany
So why is Oberammergau in Bavaria so famous? The town (pop 5000) on the river Ammer is best known for its Passion Play, presented during the first year of every decade. Originating in 1634, AFTER the English Mystery Plays had been closed down, the German passion play fulfilled a vow by the towns people to present a play depicting the Passion of Christ, if only God would end an appalling plague. God did!
In 1871 a special performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play was held in honour of King Ludwig II. The king was so moved that he donated a monumental crucifixion sculpture, having chosen the material, artist and location for the monument himself. The completed sculpture arrived in 1875 and was unveiled in front of royalty. For three years King Ludwig returned to the Crucifixion Group to pay respect and to offer silent prayer.
The Oberammergau play had dramatic text, singers and music, expanding on scenes from the Old Testament depicted for the audience by motionless actors. These scenes displayed the links between the two Testaments. So this small town needed a very special theatre, built in 1890 and modernised since. It has 4,800 seats for viewers, and space for 1,500 local people to participate on the stage.
If you happen to be in Oberammergau during the play years (2000, 2010, 2020), get a seat early as they expect half a million visitors each time. But be realistic - the Oberammergau play has a running time of 7 hours, broken up for dinner. In years when the play is not on, visitors are allowed in to see back stage, the props and costumes.