After months of rehearsals, the 200-strong company of the Chester Mystery Plays open a two-week run at Chester Cathedral on Friday, June 29 following months of rehearsals.

Based on Bible stories like The Creation, Noah’s Ark, The Nativity and The Crucifixion, the medieval plays were originally told by the Freeman and Guilds of the city on pageant wagons in the streets of Chester.

Now staged in the magnificent nave of the cathedral, the 2018 cycle is presented as one narrative in five acts written by Deborah McAndrew, directed by Peter Leslie Wild with music by Matt Baker and set and costume design by Dawn Allsopp.