Jerz > Theater > York Pageant [ Staging | Context | Simulator | Glossary ]
Staging: [ Creation/Lucifer | Crucifixion | Emmaus | Judgment ]
Summary: In the York play of the Crucifixion of Christ, four Roman soldiers mutter among themselves about how hard their work is. The text of the play includes specific references to each step in the process of tying Christ to the cross, nailing him down, lifting the cross from the ground to the wagon, and slipping the upright cross — with the actor tied to it — into a slot at the end of the wagon. The play was originally sponsored by the pinners (nailers), painters and latoners (workers of brass or tin). This collection of documents includes about 20 still pictures and a 25-second video clip of the raising of the cross, all from the 1977 Toronto production.
![]()
|
![]() |
![]()
|
![]() |
![]()
|
![]() |
![]() |
gg
![]() | |
![]() Take heed ye shall no travail miss, Behold my head, my hands, my feet…His speech instructs the passers-by not to waste the opportunity to reflect on the significance of His suffering; despite its gravity, however, he nonetheless prays for the forgiveness of his tormentors.In a devotional tradition known as affective piety, the medieval faithful were encouraged to enter fully into the suffering of their crucified Lord, in order to understand more deeply the significance of His sacrifice. Candles, incense, icons, stained-glass, paintings, statues, and (in the case of the Corpus Christi Pageant and other devotional drama) live actors stimulated the senses and inspired the religious imagination. Presumably, not everyone passing through the streets of medieval York would have been there to watch the play, but when the suffering Christ suddenly calls out to the passers by, the effect is quite powerful. The actor becomes an icon which the audience venerates — a multimedia form of worship. | |
![]() | |
The very end of the videotaped performance (not pictured here) shows the actor hopping down from the cross and walking away. The effect is quite unsettling, simply because the crucifixion scene as a whole is so effective. (Apparently, the troupe did not want to risk injuring the actor by wheeling the wagon away while he was still perched upon the cross.)
|
Staging: [ Creation/Lucifer | Crucifixion | Emmaus | Judgment ]