Thursday 5 and Friday 6 December, 7:30pm at St James the Deacon.

Tickets available from: York Mystery Plays website: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/york-mystery-plays-supporters-trust/a-nativity-for-york-2024/e-yeodmk

Man let be thy cruelness and be glad of Christmas

The Nativity celebrates the birth of Jesus into the life of humankind. Beloved when performed by young children, this story is not a simple tale of unmitigated joy. It is a cold, cruel world that the baby arrives in. People are subjugated by an occupying power, and some are doomed to pay a price of unimaginable suffering. But the birth also gives optimism and the hope of a better future.

In this production, we recreate the experiences of those who aimed to keep the story of the Mystery Plays alive at a time when they were banned because their Catholic content was unacceptable to Protestant rulers.  A band of actors from Egton on the North Yorkshire Moors kept the flame burning with secret performances in the houses of Catholic landowners – one step ahead of the authorities.

Join us for a hour when we bring to life that time of fear, of punishment, of homelessness – but also a time of great hope and joy.