Lichfield mysteries

Aren't regional 'mstery plays' a great thing?
Traditionally, and deliberately, the actors are recruited from the local populace, so their performances are raw and uneven.  The old-English text of the plays is anachronistic and strange.  The whole idea is to be flexible and even to ad-lib...  The old Bible stories are not as familiar as the might be to a modern audience.
But, somehow, it all works. It's all charming.

It was Lichfield's turn this weekend to stage their cycle of such plays. 
The scene above shows Eve talking with The Serpent; the scene below is Mary learning that she is to be a mother.

Penkhull mystery

The annual mystery play at Penkhull, a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, is a recent phenomenon, but improves year on year. I saw it when it was performed yesterday (Saturday).

In it, the local community gets together to perform a so-called 'mystery' play (a performance style that is a descendant of the amateur medieval plays that depicted stories from the Bible). This year the community created the story of the biblical Book of Ruth - which seems to involve a lot of death somehow (see Death in the photo!).

It all takes place on the village green beside the church. This year, the action just managed to escape the intermittent showers that have characterised the weather of the last few days.

My vote - brilliant. Okay, I couldn't hear much of it, even just a few rows back, but the costumes and creation were way above expected.