3-086-885 - Ware in the World/Heritage Images

The York Mystery Plays, York Festival, St Mary's Abbey, York, c1960s. Pilate, his wife and son make merry and are cheered by the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The first recorded performance of the cycle of York Mystery Plays, staged by the Guilds of York, was in 1376. The staging of the plays was banned in 1568, but the tradition was revived in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain.