The medieval “Mystery” plays first performed over 700 years ago in England are being brought back to life again this summer – in Netherley!
The Netherley Mystery Plays Project will take place at Valley Theatre on the afternoons of Saturday & Sunday 9th & 10th June and will feature local Faith groups working with valley Theatre’s own Adult Drama Group.
The “Mystery” plays were first created to bring the stories and message of the bible to the “masses”. At that time, Church Services were in Latin and often inaccessible to ordinary folk. Held on holy days, whole towns were taken over by local groups acting out bible tales from the top of wagons and on makeshift stages. It is this festival spirit that the project will be recreating at the Valley Theatre venue, Childwall Valley Road, L27 3YA.
Four dramas from the bible will be re-enacted – The Garden of Eden, Jonah and the Whale, the Good Samaritan and the Resurrection. The event starts at 1pm and is free.
As an added bonus, a re-enactment of a centuries old “Mummers” play will also be performed with musical accompaniment, featuring local hero, St George (of the dragon fame).
The final strand of the project will take place the following weekend when modern interpretations of well-known bible stories by local writers will be performed. This will take place on the Friday & Saturday 15th & 16th June, 7.30pm. Tickets £5/£4.
For more details call 0771 884 8894. Tickets are available from the Valley Theatre website on www.valleytheatre.co.uk.