Reviving the Past
The Lincoln Mystery Plays Trust is a charity which was set up in 1978 to keep alive medieval mystery plays which we resurrect and transform for contemporary audiences.
We welcome all, onstage or backstage, in our productions which we perform at venues in Lincoln and Lincolnshire.
Lincoln Mystery Plays - Reviving the Past
As a theatrical charity...
We produce high quality theatrical and musical performances that participants are proud of and audiences love.
We enjoy bringing our productions to audiences in their local venues as well as performing in beautiful historic venues such as Lincoln Cathedral and the Medieval Bishops' Palace.
We specialise in medieval mystery plays - loosely based on bible stories - which were performed in our region in the late medieval period. So, in keeping with a 600-year-old Lincoln tradition, we keep alive and reflect Lincoln's strong medieval history.
We are a secular community theatre group, welcoming participants of all religions and none. We've had more than 50 participants performing or helping with productions over the last year.
We also delight in performing plays that celebrate different aspects of our local Lincolnshire heritage.
We work closely with our musicians - the Lincoln Mystery Players - whose skilful playing of medieval instruments is truly evocative.
We seek to enhance the ongoing cultural life of Lincolnshire for the benefit of people from our local area and beyond.
We have had audience numbers of more than 600 over the last year and we try to make our performances accessible for all by having a donate-what-you-can policy.
Lincoln Mystery Plays
Historical documents reveal that mystery plays unique to Lincoln were performed here for hundreds of years in the medieval and early modern periods and were a long-treasured aspect of Lincoln's culture and heritage.
Although the original scripts of Lincoln's own plays have been lost, we perform the medieval N-Town plays that we know were toured in a neighbouring diocese by a group of travelling players.
We translate our plays from Middle English (and sometimes medieval Latin) in order to breathe new life into different aspects of the originals, ensuring that audiences can understand and experience them anew. We aim to make our performances both resonant of the past and reflective of the present.
We are proud to uphold and preserve the tradition of performing mystery plays in Lincoln.
Lincoln Mystery Plays - Reviving the Past
Heritage Plays and Music
We don't just perform medieval mystery plays, we also put on plays that reveal and celebrate the heritage of our region. Past productions include 'The World at her Feet' about local women who played football in Lincoln during WW1 and 'The Last Post' about a local family who lost several sons in WW1. Some of our heritage plays have been written especially for us and performed as premieres.
We revive other medieval texts such as the ballad of 'Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne' which we recently performed at the Medieval Bishops' Palace.
We give live music performances as well as regularly incorporating music and song into our plays. We work with several fantastic musicians, including the Lincoln Mystery Players (who specialise in medieval music on medieval instruments) as well as folk musicians. Their music amplifies dramatic moments as well as creating atmosphere in our productions.
Lincoln Mystery Plays - Reviving the Past
Forthcoming Events
December 2024 - Medieval Nativity Play
Back by popular demand, come along to experience a truly wonderful insight into the past with our Medieval Nativity this Christmas. This year's performance includes five of the original medieval mystery plays, including the rarely performed 'Parliament of Heaven' as well as the more familiar 'Joseph's Doubts', 'Mary's visit to Elizabeth', 'The Nativity' and 'Shepherds'.
Performances:
Sunday 8th December 6pm at Lincoln Cathedral
Friday 20th December 7pm at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Bailgate
Saturday 21st December 4pm at St Mary Magdalene's Church, Bailgate
Sunday 22nd December 3pm at St Nicholas' Church, Newport
April/May 2025 - Easter Plays
Following on from our highly acclaimed Holy Week Plays of 2024, we'll be telling the next part of the Easter story through the medieval perspective. We will be recruiting for this production in January 2025.
Lincoln Mystery Plays - Reviving the Past
Recent Reviews
Holy Week Plays 2024
"A stunning performance”
“It left me speechless"
"A very moving experience"
"Brilliant!!! the atmosphere was electric”
“Intimate and real"
"Powerful and moving"
"The medieval music was so appropriate and added to the atmosphere"
Nativity 2023
"The best thing about Christmas"
Lincoln Mystery Plays Trust, a local community theatre company Reviving the Past
For further information, queries, to ask us to perform at your venue, to join us as a performer or backstage or to find out where we are performing next
Contact us
Based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, we are a registered charity - the Lincoln Mystery Plays Trust
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