York Mystery Plays 2026

The York Mystery Plays are back in the city centre this summer, with the first of four main performances taking place today, Sunday 28 June. It's a community production that brings together hundreds of local people to perform medieval plays on wagons at different stations across town, a tradition that goes back to the 14th century. The whole thing is run by the York Festival Trust.

For 2026, they've picked eleven main plays plus some extra extracts, running from the Fall of Lucifer through to the Last Judgment. War in Heaven is put on by the Guild of Freemen of York and HIDden Theatre, The Creation by the Guild of Building, and The Creation and Fall of Adam and Eve by the Lords of Misrule and the Company of Merchant Taylors. Noah and the Flood comes from the Parish Church of St Luke the Evangelist, The Shepherds from the Guild of Cordwainers, and The Massacre of the Innocents from DSpace Ukrainian Theatre and the Guild of Scriveners. The Journey to Calvary is handled by the York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust, The Crucifixion by York Settlement Community Players and the York Butchers Guild, The Resurrection, the Quem Quaeritis by Lions and Dragons Theatre Co, and Doomsday and the Coronation of Mary by the Company of Merchant Adventurers and the Northern Militia with Ravens Morris and Haigha.

Those eleven plays are performed across four stations: York Minster Refectory, Kings Square, St Sampson’s Square, and Deans Park. The performances at these stations are free for everyone, though there's a paid grandstand at Deans Park if you'd rather have a reserved seat. Beyond the main dates, there are two twilight performances in the Shambles on Tuesday 30 June and Wednesday 1 July, and the final main performance is on Sunday 5 July.

The plays are part of a wider two-week festival of events inspired by the stories. There are two exhibitions running alongside: The Flood is on from 20 June to 3 July, and Echoes Through the Plays: Music, Memory and the York Mystery Plays runs from 23 June to 29 August.