File:Mystery_Play_Metz.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
mystery play
Sign in to saveAlso known as mystery theater, miracle play
Christian-themed medieval European drama
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- theatrical genre
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- Commons category
- Mystery plays
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- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
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Encyclopedic overview
Depiction of a performance of the Mystery Play of Saint Clement in Metz during the Middle Ages.
Mystery plays and miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song. They told of subjects such as the Creation, Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel, and the Last Judgment. Often they were performed together in cycles which could last for days.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “mystery play” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.