High Places and Travelling Scenes: Some Observations on the Staging of the York Cycle

An argument for a more expanded use of the platea in staging certain (earth-bound) plays of the York Cycle, based on the experience of producing Abraham and Isaac for the 1998 Toronto project. Extended 'travelling scenes' focusing upon a high point (naked hill or elevated temple or castle) are found throughout the Cycle, suggesting that significant playing at street-level with a culminating action on the wagon-top was a distinct possibility for many plays of the Cycle