York Mystery Plays

Sunday 9 and 16 September. Special evening performance on Wednesday 12 September in Shambles Market.

Book your tickets and find out more.

A theatrical spectacle performed by the communities of the City of York, The York Mystery Plays were originally a set of 48 plays performed by the medieval Guilds of York. They illustrate the Christian history of the world from the Creation to the Last Judgement. They contain stories of delight, humour, horror, temptation and resistance.

After several centuries lying dormant, the plays were resurrected in the 20th century with performances in the York Museum Gardens, performed by massive casts drawn from York’s community. Over time, many different groups and venues have hosted the tradition. In the 1990s, the Guilds of York reclaimed their heritage by producing a set of plays on waggons, as their medieval ancestors once did.