The Wakefield Mystery Plays
Second Production at Bretton Hall
June 1967
The images below of the 1967 performance of the Wakefield Mystery Plays have been kindly supplied by
Ivor M. Cleves, who devised and directed the lighting for the performances.
Click on images for enlargements
Tutor - Head of Drama: Producer
Student: Director of Lighting
Remarks of Martial Rose Before the 1967 Production
In his Foundation Lecture to tutors and students at Bretton Hall, shortly before the 1967 production of the Wakefield Mystery Plays, Martial Rose, who had produced the 1958 performances, commented:
"In 1958, after the performances were over, Mr. Friend said these words - perhaps he has forgotten them now. He said:
'I am glad we have raised the Cross through these plays at this College'.
"Each new production is a new beginning, a fresh venture, possibly leading to a different destination. Yet, when your performances are over... I trust you will feel, with your Principal, glad that the Cross has been raised yet again at Bretton Hall"
Remarks of John Hodgson After the 1967 Performances
"In May 1967, nine years after the first production, the Principal felt that, following a period of rapid expansion, the College would gain greatly by uniting its resources again in a corporate effort to produce the Wakefield Mystery Plays.
"Although the plays about the resurrection and the ascension are less interestingly written from a dramatic point of view, seen within the complete Cycle they leave a powerful impression.
"That a man can live such a life and meet his death in such a way that he retains a vital force in the lives of others, is a lasting experience offered by the plays.
"In 1967 the Cross was again raised at Bretton."