YMPST Productions

The Supporters’ Trust performed The Entry into Jerusalem. Simon Tompsett (who had previously directed The Crucifixion for the Butchers) was appointed Director, with committee member Angie Millard as Assistant Director.

Angie very luckily got the services of Jonathan Brockbank as musical director – as well as playing accordion and violin for the Ebor Morris he had a fund of knowledge about folk dances and the South Yorkshire carolling traditions, and directed the singing and processional dancing by the cast.

The play was set just before WW1, and the cast plundered every charity clothes shop for miles around to find period (or at least, out-of-date) clothes, and assembled their own costumes under the close supervision of Jo Keogh and Izzy Carrick. Costumes were hired for a few of the burghers with speaking roles, such as an out-of-date police uniform, again to give a period flavour.

The set was designed by Mike Rogers and Richard Sheils, and was basically a ceremonial green arch, as would once have been set up in a town to greet royalty or other important folk, and was built on the waggon by the waggon-master, Dave al-Bahrani Peacock.

York Mystery Plays 2014-Entry To Jerusalem
York Mystery Plays 2014-Entry To Jerusalem
York Mystery Plays 2014-Entry To Jerusalem

2018 YMPST Waggon Play

The 2018 Waggon Plays were held on Sunday 9th September and Sunday 16th with a midweek performance held on 12th September.

The Supporters Trust performed the Harrowing of Hell. We were delighted that Ben Prusiner accepted our invitation to direct the production. Ben is the artistic director of Re:Verse Theatre, which stages socially conscious productions of classical plays. He has directed in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles & Japan, and holds an MA in Applied Theatre from the City University of New York. In York he has directed twice for the York Shakespeare Project (King Lear Henry VIII) as well as Re:Verse Theatre’s Volpone, or Out-Foxed at Rowntree Park as part of the York International Shakespeare Festival.

Ben’s vision for the Harrowing of Hell involved the creation of a 4 metre high stage to create the fortress of Hell, ably designed and built by Dave al-Bahrani Peacock as Wagon Master. From this the devils, portraying 21st century sins, such as pollution, greed, war, surveyed and controlled the souls in torment. In addition to the Biblical characters in the text, souls represented the people of York through the ages: for example, judges, church people, suffragettes, with costumes designed by Aurelia Puigdomenech. Music from John Holt as a medieval monk with electric guitar provided a dynamic introduction and conclusion to the pageant.

York Mystery Plays Waggons 2018 - The Harrowing Of Hell
York Mystery Plays Waggons 2018 - The Harrowing Of Hell
York Mystery Plays Waggons 2018 - The Harrowing Of Hell
York Mystery Plays Waggons 2018 - The Harrowing Of Hell

To learn more about our decision to stage an annual Nativity play, see our dedicated A Nativity for York page.

In 2024 we will be heading to three venues around the York area.

A Nativity for York

A Resurrection for York

A Resurrection for York was presented at The Resident’s Garden in Dean’s Park, York on 3 and 4 July 2021. A brochure was produced that illustrated the journey that this production took, all the people that worked together to make it happen and photos from the event.
The front cover of the brochure

2022 YMPST waggon play

York Festival Trust arranged a festival of wagon plays on 19 and 26 June 2022 throughout York, and in the market on 22 and 23 June 2022.
There were eight plays altogether; YMPST worked with the Company of Cordwainers of the City of York to bring forth The Flood (for more, please see our dedicated page here: YMPST The Flood)

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As part of the Goodramgate Festival in 2023, we were invited to perform the Baptism. Paul Toy stepped up as director and four actors played the parts.

For the full details including the programme and video of one of the performances, please see this page: Barbour’s Play – YMPST

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The Creation trilogy resulted as a new initiative by the Trust: mentoring three relatively inexperienced directors with the support of an experienced Mystery Play director and producers from the YMPST Committee. The result was three fresh interpretations of plays from the Creation cycle: Creation of the World, the Fall of Man and Cain and Abel. These iconic plays, written in the 14th century, were each performed twice during the afternoon of Saturday 1 June 2024 (a sell-out set of performances) and we then did it all again at Hartrigg Oaks Care Village in New Earswick.
Follow this link for the programme, the video and some more photos: ympst.co.uk/creation

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Fundraising

We are grateful to the work of our many supporters who helped at our stalls and cafe at St Crux on repeated occasions, carried out sponsored runs, held raffles, gave donations to fund both of our Wagon Plays and A Nativity for York.  It wouldn’t be possible without them.