Recollections of a past performance of the Chester Mystery Plays.   In 1987 I was a 15-year-old schoolgirl who was 'plucked' from the cast of a school play at St Mary's College, Wallasey, by a rather eccentric and fabulous teacher, Mr Berriman. He ran a medieval theatre group with Alan Hamilton called the Makeshift Mammas and they needed a Mary for their contribution to Chester Mystery Plays, which was The Magi and the Innocents play.

So they asked me and from then on I seemed to spend the whole summer with them, a happy makeshift band of teachers, artists and aspiring actors. It was an experience I will never forget, not just for the plays themselves but also spending the summer of 1987 drinking homemade wine with such an interesting collection of people! At that time I lived in Wallasey with my family and regularly sang in English Martyr's Church in Wallasey Village.

The plays themselves that year were nothing short of incredible. The greatest memories I have of them are 'God' standing on top of pine scaffolding that was the set - a very powerful and charismatic actor. Even more than that, there was the devil in Revelations on the final night - an incredibly wily female careering in on a fire-breathing vehicle that looked like it had come straight out of Mad Max.
It was amazing, really awesome.

The whole thing is such an amazing mix of dance, street performance, acting and passion. I personally had to ride a donkey from the stage on Cathedral Green to the town hall, accompanied by flaming torch bearers all singing Unto Us a Child is Born - this was in July and all the audience were following! There is something definitely magical about that, and I appreciate it now far more than I did then!

View Sarah's pictures of the 1987 Mystery Plays on flickr.com here

  Contributed by Sarah Everitt