Details

In June 2001, a production of The Mysteries opened in London's East End. Featuring a cast of 40 young South African actors of all races, many of whom had no formal stage training, The Mysteries received ecstatic reviews. Its 20 performances were a sell out. This production creates an extraordinary blend of the medieval words of the Chester Mystery Plays (performed in Xhosa, Zulu and Afrikaans as well as English) with music - ancient and modern, African and European. It draws on the rich choral traditions of the South African townships and on modern rhythms created with drums and penny whistles. Dress head to foot in red leather, Satan transforms himself into a serpent and leads Eve into original sin. Noah pleads with his wife to abandon her vegetable patch and board his ark as the rain begins to fall. Jesus arrives too late to save his friend Lazarus but will not give him up without a fight and in the garden of Gethsemane Judas betrays God's son with a single kiss. No stories are better known than these, woven in the consciousness of people across generations and continents, and no version is as famous as The Chester Mystery Plays.

Creatives/Company

Author(s): Mark Dornford-May, Charles Hazlewood