Still life in British art: York's pivotal role in Tate ... - University of York

the university of york magazineinterview15Interview with...Liam Evans-FordTheatre producer Liam Evans-Ford has the challenge of staging theMystery Plays in the shadow of the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in York’sMuseum Gardens for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century.Liam Evans-Ford smiles a lot for a manwith the weight of eight centuries ofhistory on his shoulders. As communityproducer of the 2012 York MysteryPlays, he has the task of restoring one of thecity’s greatest dramatic spectacles to thelocation which many believe has seen themost effective of its modern incarnations.To describe his burden of responsibility assubstantial is putting it mildly.He is marshalling an army of 1500enthusiastic volunteers ranging from amateuractors and stagehands to costumiers andphotographers, from front-of-house staffto musicians and choristers, as preparationsgather pace for the open-air shows nextmonth. Since their renaissance to coincidewith the Festival of Britain in 1951, theMystery Plays have always been a celebrationof York’s social cohesiveness.Two interchangeable casts eachnumbering 250 will help to ease the strainon the amateur actors of four weeks ofnightly performances. They will be joined byprofessionals Ferdinand Kingsley, who playsGod and Jesus Christ, and Graeme Hawleyas Satan.“There are a number of reasons why wehave two casts,” Evans-Ford says. “First, itgives more people more opportunities to beinvolved, and it’s always been a project that’sbeen professionally delivered with peoplefrom the city.”University staff and students are takingpart and Evans-Ford says that one of hismain objectives has been to involve the city’semployers, large and small, in the project.By any measure it is a mammoth project –the stage area alone is bigger than any otherin the UK. The entire floor area of York TheatreRoyal’s stage and wings would fit into theMystery Plays stage area four times over.The sophistication of outdoor events in 2012means the erection of the auditorium in theMuseum Gardens will consume a fractionof the time it once took. Evans-Ford saysthe outdoor location is less daunting to thenon-theatregoer and will help to fulfil themission to make the production as inclusiveas possible.Writer Mike Kenny has reduced the 48plays in the York Cycle to a narrative lastingaround three hours. Evans-Ford says theresult provides a new dimension to thetraditional story for a more secular age.“People have been telling this story forover 800 years, so our challenge is to tell thestory anew and find something that appealsto people who have faith and to those whodon’t. It will be an epic event to come andsee,” he promises. Bringing the drama to lifehas been the job of Damian Cruden, who isartistic director at York Theatre Royal and PaulBurbridge, who is director of Riding LightsTheatre Company.Evans-Ford has no concerns about thecapacity of his cast to rise to the challenge,even though he acknowledges some of themwill never have been on stage before.If all the tickets are sold for the 28performances, the Mystery Plays will be seenby a total of 38,000 people. But it is no longersimply the performances that will be availablefor the public to see. In this digital age, everyaspect of the entire production has beendocumented assiduously.Evans-Ford says: “What the photographygroup is doing is covering every singlerehearsal , every single costume-makingsession, script meetings and so on. Digitally,photographically and cinematically wecan record a lot more so it means we havesomething quite substantial to add to thearchive. With a project like this, you are sittingwithin a massive slice of history that’s beengoing for 800 years and that, hopefully, willbe with us for another 800 years.”Photo by Allan HarrisThe Mystery Plays run from 2–27 AugustDame Judi Dench (right) appeared in the 1954 Mystery PlaysYork Press Photography Archive