About Doomsday

Some years ago Yorkshire poet Tony Harrison created a set of three Mystery Plays based on the medieval Chester, Wakefield, Coventry and York cycles. You may have been lucky enough to see these in production at the National Theatre. The result was pure spectacle, with sights such as Brian Glover as God the Master Builder, complete with hard hat, raised high above His creation by a fork lift truck.

Doomday is the third and final play in the cycle. Despite starting with the harrowing of hell and ending with the end of the world, Doomsday contains some great humour, very much in the style of The Nativity. The 'jobsworth' Knights are still bickering, and Satan's demons return to harass the audience like true pantomime villains. Many of the other characters from The Nativity and The Passion also return.

As with The Nativity and The Passion, music plays an essential part. Working alongside Harrison, John Tams and the band 'Home Service' produced a stunning score. Some of the music from The Nativity and The Passion is reprised, along with some great new music - giving Mary a New Orleans jazz funeral was inspired! Rooted in the folk tradition, their music weaves a thread through the narrative, a perfect match for the story telling tradition which produced and preserved the Mystery Plays themselves. Like the plays, the music is presented in a distinctive, contemporary style.

Turvey Mysteries presented their community production of Doomsday on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th March 2007, in the wonderful historical setting of All Saints' Church, Turvey, Bedfordshire. Follow these links for details of the company and photographs of the production.

If you're interested in knowing more about Doomsday follow these links to the characters and scenes.

Please e-mail info@turveymysteries.org.uk for further information.