Drama groups link up for mystery plays
By Ruth Badley
The result of an exciting collaboration between Pateley Bridge Dramatic Society and Summerbridge Players is to be premiered as part of this year's Nidderdale Festival.
Local writer, actor and director Nevin Ward has penned The Nidderdale Mystery Plays, and a cast of 35 from both societies are to present outdoor performances of the new work in Pateley Bridge and Dacre Banks.
Taking inspiration from the Mediaeval Mystery Play Cycles of York, Chester, Lincoln and Wakefield, the Nidderdale version also features some lively and irreverent comedy as well as the dramatic and moving scenes associated with the Crucifixion.
Both societies have received Awards for All grants from the Millenium Fund to help stage the production. "The Nidderdale Mystery Plays provide an obvious and appropriate choice to celebrate the Millenium and in the process will allow us to engage in the oldest sources of English drama - and one that identifies strongly with the North of England and Yorkshire in particular," said Nevin Ward.
"The original texts, despite their antiquity, are very funny, such as when Noah built the Ark. His wife refuses to get into the boat because she's in the pub boozing up with her cronies and doesn't want to leave them behind."
Like the original presentations, the 2000 version will be staged from the back of a wagon, although in this case a 40-ft modern trailer replaces the small pageant wagons used in mediaeval York.
The production also features folk carols to link the scenes, and these are performed by the Mr E Band. A puppet play based on The Cherry Tree Carol is also part of the performance.
So if you want to see Lucifer cast into Hell, Eve tempted by the serpent, Noah building the Ark, and much more, here are the performance dates and venues
[This article appeared in the Harrogate press in June 2000]
By Ruth Badley
The result of an exciting collaboration between Pateley Bridge Dramatic Society and Summerbridge Players is to be premiered as part of this year's Nidderdale Festival.
Local writer, actor and director Nevin Ward has penned The Nidderdale Mystery Plays, and a cast of 35 from both societies are to present outdoor performances of the new work in Pateley Bridge and Dacre Banks.
Taking inspiration from the Mediaeval Mystery Play Cycles of York, Chester, Lincoln and Wakefield, the Nidderdale version also features some lively and irreverent comedy as well as the dramatic and moving scenes associated with the Crucifixion.
Both societies have received Awards for All grants from the Millenium Fund to help stage the production. "The Nidderdale Mystery Plays provide an obvious and appropriate choice to celebrate the Millenium and in the process will allow us to engage in the oldest sources of English drama - and one that identifies strongly with the North of England and Yorkshire in particular," said Nevin Ward.
"The original texts, despite their antiquity, are very funny, such as when Noah built the Ark. His wife refuses to get into the boat because she's in the pub boozing up with her cronies and doesn't want to leave them behind."
Like the original presentations, the 2000 version will be staged from the back of a wagon, although in this case a 40-ft modern trailer replaces the small pageant wagons used in mediaeval York.
The production also features folk carols to link the scenes, and these are performed by the Mr E Band. A puppet play based on The Cherry Tree Carol is also part of the performance.
So if you want to see Lucifer cast into Hell, Eve tempted by the serpent, Noah building the Ark, and much more, here are the performance dates and venues
- The Showground, Pateley Bridge, on Saturday June 24th and Sunday June 25th
- The Village Green, Sawley, on Thursday 29th June
- The Church Field, Dacre Banks, on Saturday July 1st and Sunday July 2nd
[This article appeared in the Harrogate press in June 2000]