York Theatre Royal and BBC perform the 14th century York Mystery Plays for radio

The York Mystery Plays, or the York Corpus Christi Plays, are a cycle of 48 plays covering a series of events from the creation to the Last Judgment.

They were traditionally presented on the feast day of Corpus Christi and were performed in York, from the mid-fourteenth century until their suppression in 1569.

The modern day tradition of performing them was resurrected in the 1950s, and now BBC Radio York has been working in collaboration with York Theatre Royal to put them on the air - performed from home on mobile phones by a mix of community actors with a few professionals. .

The audio versions of the plays will include four performances in four installments - ‘Adam and Eve’, ‘The Flood part 1’, ‘The Flood part 2’ and ‘Moses and Pharaoh’.

The first one will be broadcast on BBC Radio York on Sunday, June 7.

Juliet Forster, the associate director of York Theatre Royal, has adapted the plays.

Also director of the series, said: “The York Mystery Plays are part of the DNA of this city.

"They belong to the people of York, and have brought people together to create, perform, watch, laugh and cry since the 14th century.

"The longevity of these potent plays clearly demonstrates how vital the collective act of storytelling is and has always been to human beings, and how much we need to explore and reflect together on our experiences and understanding of the world.

"We’re determined to keep doing this in spite of the lockdown. So, these plays seem exactly the right choice to pick up, find a new way to create, communicate afresh and encourage one another with.”

The theatre sourced of the scripts, recruited the actors and provided music.

In-keeping with the social distancing rules, the production meant the actors had to record their lines on a smart phone from home - which were then sent to BBC Radio York, who mixed and pulled them together into finished installments.

BBC Radio York’s acting editor Anna Evans said: “It’s a privilege to work with York Theatre Royal and members of the city’s community to retain the tradition of the York Mystery Plays.

"During such uncertain times, it’s important that we can help maintain this cultural experience in a different way and I am so proud of what the teams have achieved in such difficult times.”

The project is part of the York Theatre Royal’s Collective Acts, a programme of creative community engagement taking place while the building is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Listeners can hear the audio York Mystery Plays on BBC Radio York’s Sunday breakfast show with Jonathan Cowap every Sunday in June starting or on the BBC Sounds app.