Lincoln Mystery Plays performed in Oregon, USA. 1989
Washington Park Amphitheatre, Portland 18-19 August
reviews
OUR MYSTERY PLAYS WOW ‘EM IN AMERICA
…their two-week American tour included performances, in front of up to 7000 people a night in huge amphitheatres, stadiums and parks on the West Coast.
“The reception was fantastic and audiences on some occasions were so quiet and absorbed that there were times when I wondered whether there was anyone out there,” said Mystery Plays director Keith Ramsay.
Keith, who is head of drama at Bishop Grosseteste College, Lincoln, and a leading authority on medieval drama, stayed in America for a few days after the resxt of the group returned to visit a long-time friend, the daughter of Alfred Hitchcock.
The Lincoln production enjoyed wide press and radio coverage, and a major article in the Wall Street Journal described Keith as “the British director we’ve all been waiting for.”
Included among the professionals in the cast was Colin McFarlane of North Hykeham who played the contrasting roles of Jesus and Satan.
Lincolnshire Echo
“I certainly enjoyed the production very much; the plays were artfully staged, acted with great meaning and sinceriry and created a very deep impression on me.”
Robert Cohen, Chair of Drama, University of Califorina
‘The grand-scale drama of good and evil’
Oregonian
cast
The Creation
God
Satan
Adam
Eve
Gabriel
Good Angel
Evil Angels
Jack Jones
Colin McFarlane / Stephen Hartford
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
Rebecca Stewart
Gill Hardcastle
Irene North, Alison Cormack, Sue Jones
Paul Brown, Robert Taylor, John Davies
Cain and Abel
Cain
Abel
Adam
Robert Taylor
Paul Brown
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
Salutation and Conception
God
Son
Holy Ghost
Gabriel
Mary
Jack Jones
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
John Challen
Gill Hardcastle
Alison Cormack
Birth of Christ
Joseph
Mary
Angel
Salome
Zelomy
Ron Jeffreys
Alison Cormack
Gill Hardcastle
Irene North
Louie Ramsay
Adoration of the Shepherds
First Shepherd
Second Shepherd
Third Shepher
Joseph
Mary
Angel
Jack Jones
Keith Ramsay
Paul Brown
Ron Jeffreys
Alison Cormack
Gill Hardcastle
Massacre of the Innocents
Herod
Satan
Death
First Soldier
Second Soldier
Steward
Ange
First Woman
Second Woman
Keith Scales
Colin McFarlane / Stephen Hartford
John Challen
Robert Taylor
John Davies
Paul Brown
Irene North
Rebecca Stewart
Sue Jones
Temptation
Christ Stephen
Satan
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
Colin McFarlane / Stephen Hartford
Satan’s Soliloquy
Satan
Colin McFarlane / Stephen Hartford
Woman Taken in Adultery
Woman
Jesus
Scribe
Pharisee
Accuser
Young Man
Irene North
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
John Challen
Paul Brown
Ron Jeffreys
Robert Taylor
Passion
Jesus
Judas
First Torturer
Second Torturer
Third Torturer
Fourth Torturer
Veronica
Mary
John
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
Robert Taylor
Paul Brown
John Davies
Keith Ramsay
Colin McFarlane / Stephen Hartford
Sue Jones
Louie Ramsay
Ron Jeffreys
Deposition and Burial
Longeus
First Soldier
Second Soldier
Joseph of Aramathea
Nicodemus
Mary
Jesus
Keith Scales
Robert Taylor
Paul Brown
John Challen
Jack Jones
Louie Ramsay
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
Resurrection
Jesus
Mary
Stephen Hartford / Colin McFarlane
Louie Ramsay
Production
Director
Assistant Director
Director of Music
Musicians
Lighting Designer
Costume Designer
Production Co-ordinator
Tour Co-ordinator
Publicity Co-ordinator
Graphic Designer
Set Construction
Keith Ramsay
Debbie Fairlie
John Bannister
Ann Bannister, Jenny Ives, Lorna Sargent, Claire Winter
David Dray
Anne Etherington
Keith Scales
Linda Dodds
Carolyn Buan
Jeanne E Galick
Clay Brown