What is, perhaps, most striking about this sequence of centuries-old plays based on episodes from the Bible – these days presented every five years to spectacular effect in the nave of Chester’s ancient gothic cathedral by hundreds of performers (including musicians), supported by hundreds more makers and backstage workers – is how intimate and human they feel, at least for much of the time.
Cain and Abel tussle between the two banks of the audience, like any pair of scrapping teenagers – until Cain deals his fratricidal blow. Mrs Noah isn’t going to get into that Ark and leave her friends behind. Joseph and Mary are a young couple in shock at the news of her pregnancy.
The action is close to the audience physically as well as emotionally. John Young’s production ebbs and flows between two raised banks of seats, with playing areas at either end. Jess Curtis’s costumes conjure a vivid, medieval world with bright colours and simple shapes. A community cast delivers involving, atmospheric performances (superb movement direction from Emma Briggs). Matt Baker’s music segues confidently from salsa to ecclesiastical, and points in between (atmospheric but often overloud; volume an issue throughout).
Humour and pathos are punctuated by horror. Traumatised women show us hands stained with the blood of their children, killed by Herod’s order. Jesus screams out in pain as nails are enthusiastically hammered into his flesh (Duncan Crompton first among equals in the role); his mother wails her sorrow at the foot of the cross.
While these human aspects of the production are affecting, Mystery plays also operate on another level. Characters include angels, God (here personated by two actors, man and woman) and Lucifer. In early sections, where these figures represent universal tensions between good and evil, they work well. However, the post-crucifixion episodes take a doctrinal turn, which is in keeping with the Christian setting but feels inappropriate for a 21st-century, secular audience.
