Actors from the Chester Mystery Plays have been given permission to perform at Chester Cathedral this summer, in a medieval ceremony known as the Reading of the Banns.
Lord Mayor of Chester, Cllr Pam Booher, granted leave to shepherds from the company to present the 2013 production of the five-yearly spectacle in June and July.
Speaking from Chester Town Hall steps at noon, Cllr Booher approved the performance in a ceremony which dates back to the 14th century.
The actors playing shepherds and sheep began their procession at the Eastgate clock, accompanied by a band of musicians. Singing bawdy songs from the plays, they made their way past Chester Cross and up Northgate Street to Town Hall Square where they danced. Shepherds, played by Douglas Cashin and Paul Williams, then requested permission from the Lord Mayor to perform the Bible stories.
The Chester Mystery Plays are performed once every five years. Written in the 14th century by Benedictine monks of the Abbey of St Werburgh (now Chester Cathedral), the plays tell stories from the Creation to the Last Judgment with a special Chester twist.
They were originally performed by the Freemen and Guildsmen in the city streets but for the first time ever this year, they will be presented in the nave of Chester’s historic cathedral.
The 2013 production is directed by the award-winning theatre director and radio drama producer Peter Leslie Wild with original music by Matt Baker.
