After almost 30 years, Poculi Ludique Societas (PLS) is preparing for its third full-scale production of the York Corpus Christi Plays this June 7, 2025. Co-sponsored by the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies, the production will take place at the U of T’s Victoria University’s Burwash Quad, located just southeast of Queen’s Park and Bloor Street in Toronto.
Inspired by new research and a new updated-spelling edition by Christina M. Fitzgerald, our project will bring to life all 47 biblical plays from the York Register (plus three lost ones, with newly-imagined scripts) in the form of 35 clusters, performed by academic and creative theatre companies from across Canada and the US.
As we have done since our first pioneering, historically-grounded mounting of the York Plays in 1977, we plan to stage the production on replica medieval pageant wagons, in a single day-long event. We hope the production will inform a new generation of performance practice scholars and will delight our community and longtime friends.
Recently, calamity struck, and we need your help to bring our unique medieval wagon plays to life again.
A Legacy of Historical Revival
PLS is the only modern theatre company in the world that produces, in their entirety, the extant medieval biblical plays from the York, Chester, Towneley, and N-Town manuscripts. Beginning with our groundbreaking 1977 production based on the research of our former Chair, Alexandra F. Johnston, we continue to be leaders in early drama performance practice research.
Using meticulously crafted replica medieval pageant wagons, in 1977, we recreated the original staging of the York Corpus Christi plays for the first time since they were performed annually in York from approximately 1376 to 1569.
Once the original 1977 wagons were built by PLS volunteers and donors, they became the heart of countless productions, helping three generations of scholars and audiences experience how these early plays were performed hundreds of years ago. The original PLS wagons were also central to our full stagings of the Chester Plays (1983 and 2010), the Towneley Plays (1985), the N-Town Plays (1988), and the York Plays (1998). As well, they took centre stage for the York Nativity Plays in 1995, the Towneley Noah’s Ark at the 1997 Toronto Fringe Festival and the Digby Mary Magdalene (2003). Most recently, they were featured in our Festival of Early Drama in 2015.
Much like a theatre venue is crucial for the work of many theatre companies, our wagons have been a vital part of our mission to revive, study, and share medieval drama performance practice for over 40 years.
Tragedy Strikes: The Loss of Our Wagons
In 2022, a devastating fire destroyed PLS’s wagons and many of our set pieces. These wagons were not only essential to our productions, but they were also historically significant in that they were faithfully designed to reproduce the mobile stages used in the original York performances. Their loss has been a profound blow to our 60-year-old company and our ability to stage the plays as historically accurately as possible.
In Calamity an Opportunity
The fire that destroyed our wagons in 2022 was a heartbreaking loss, but that loss has presented us with an unexpected opportunity. With new research and a deeper understanding of medieval staging, we now have the chance to rebuild the wagons in ways that are even truer to their historical roots. Working with a team of passionate scholars and emerging researchers, we’re designing new wagons that not only capture the spirit of the original York plays but that also reflect the latest discoveries about how medieval drama was performed.
Your support will help us create something truly special—wagons that will bring history to life for audiences today and inspire future generations of performers and scholars. Together, we can turn this loss into a legacy.
This heartbreaking loss lends us an opportunity to continue to contribute to scholarly research in premodern performance practice, but we need your help to rebuild.
The Mercers’ Wagon: A Centrepiece of the Production
One of the most iconic elements of the York Corpus Christi Plays is the Mercers’ Wagon, which stages the dramatic Judgment play. This wagon was a marvel of medieval engineering and artistry, featuring intricate designs and mechanisms to bring the apocalyptic scene to life.
While insurance is helping us rebuild four of the ten wagons we lost in the fire, we need to raise at least $22,000 to help defray some of the costs of rebuilding the Mercers’ Wagon to restore this centrepiece of the production. Your support will help us recreate this historically significant wagon, ensuring that the 2025 production honours the original spirit and spectacle of the York plays. The final cost of this special legacy piece will be over $55,000 when it’s completed. This jewel in our archive will be used in years to come to bring premodern and early modern drama to life for generations of future scholars and audiences alike.
How Your Support Helps
Your donation will directly support:
- Rebuilding the Mercers’ Wagon and other replica medieval pageant wagons.
- Costumes and props that bring medieval and early modern stories to life with historical accuracy and artistic flair.
- Logistical coordination to manage the complex scheduling and movement of performers and wagons across multiple stations.
- Scholarly research and documentation to ensure that this production contributes meaningfully to our understanding of medieval drama.
Join Us in Making History and Contribute to a Lasting Legacy
By supporting this production, you are not only helping to revive a centuries-old tradition but also contributing to a vibrant scholarly and artistic community. Your generosity will enable us to rebuild our wagons, restore our ability to recreate these plays, and create an unforgettable experience that honors the past while engaging with the present.
Your donation will help make our upcoming production a success, and it will ensure that these crucial tools that premodern performance practice scholars rely on will be available for many years into the future.
Donate Today
Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to realizing our vision.
Donation Levels:
- $20: Friend – Charitable tax receipt.
- $50: Supporter – Charitable receipt and your name listed on our website.
- $100: Patron – As above, your name listed in the programme and on our website, and access to the Off-Day Events associated with York Plays 2025.
- $500: Benefactor – As above and recognition in the programme, on our website, and a video shout-out from Prof. Matt Sergi, thanking you with a mini-lecture on medieval drama, on our social media channels.
- $1,000: Champion – All of the above, plus an invitation to a behind-the-scenes walkthrough of the performance space the evening before the event.
- $5,000: Visionary – All of the above, plus a dedicated plaque on one of the regular wagons.
- $20,000: Mercers’ Wagon Sponsor – All of the above, plus exclusive naming rights to the Mercers’ Wagon and recognition as the lead donor in all promotional materials.
Stay Connected
For more information about the production, including updates on the wagon reconstruction and performance schedule, please visit yorkplays.ca. Follow us on social media to stay updated on our progress.
Thank you for your support! Together, we can bring the York Corpus Christi Plays to life once more and ensure that future productions will be supported with historically accurate tools.
Links:
Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies: https://crrs.ca/
New edition of the York Plays text edited by Christina M. Fitzgerald: https://broadviewpress.com/product/the-york-corpus-christi-play-selected-pageants/#tab-description
PLS’s 1977 production of the York Plays: https://earlytheatre.org/earlytheatre/article/view/586
Poculi Ludique Societas 