Listen to the York Radio Mystery Plays this Easter

Whilst our doors have been closed, actors and creatives have been working behind the scenes to record two further instalments of the York Radio Mystery Plays – ‘The Crucifixion’ and ‘The Resurrection’ – in collaboration with BBC Radio York, to be broadcast on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Listen to the brand new episodes of The York Radio Mystery Plays via BBC Radio York’s at the following times:
‘The Crucifixion’ – Good Friday: Friday 2 April at 6.30am and 1.30pm
‘The Resurrection’ – Easter Sunday: Sunday 4 April at 6.30am and 9.30am

They will also be available to listen to on catch up on BBC Sounds (we’ll also post the links on our website).

The Plays have been adapted by our Creative Director, Juliet Forster, and Kelvin Goodspeed from excerpts from the York Mystery Plays.  They are performed by a mix of community and professional actors.

These latest recordings follow on from the broadcast of ‘Adam and Eve’, ‘The Flood part 1’, ‘The Flood part 2’ and ‘Moses and Pharaoh’ in June 2020.

Juliet said: “I am delighted to have returned to the York Radio Mystery Plays series this Easter. The York Mystery Plays are part of the DNA of this city. They belong to the people of York, and have brought people together to create, perform, watch, laugh and cry since the 14th century. The longevity of these potent plays clearly demonstrates how vital the collective act of storytelling is and has always been to human beings, and how much we need to explore and reflect together on our experiences and understanding of the world.”

The sourcing of the scripts, recruitment of actors and music has been done by the Theatre. In keeping with the social distancing rules, the production meant the actors had to record their lines on a smart phone from home, which were then sent to BBC Radio York, who mixed and pulled them together into finished crafted instalments.

The York Mystery Radio Plays is part of Collective Acts, a programme of creative community engagement taking place while the building is closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.