York Corpus Christi Plays 2025
When and Where
Description
Imagine the medieval York Corpus Christi Plays: fifty short play scripts, each one based on a different Bible story (or on medieval “fanfic” of the Bible), each one produced and performed by a different craft guild (or other group), all on one day. Nearly every year, from 1376 to 1569, the playmakers of York put their plays on wagon stages and pulled them across the whole city, with each of the fifty plays repeating at each of twelve different stations, from sunrise well into the night. Their massive biblical drama focuses primarily on the lives of Jesus and his mother Mary, but the story extends all the way back to God’s creation of the universe, and continues forward to the Last Judgment.
On Saturday, June 7, 2025 (rain date Sunday, June 8), starting at 6 am — and likely continuing past midnight — seventeen performance groups from across North America will converge on Toronto to present all of the York Plays in medieval style. We will repeat each play on replica wagon stages, across three performance stations, outdoors (no chairs!)
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
( BEFORE ATTENDING, CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION )
Additional workshops, talks, and discussions (for registered participants only) on Sunday, June 8, 10 am-6 pm (indoors).
Visit www.yorkplays.ca for complete details.