ST JUST ORDINALIA 2021 - TRILOGY OF BRITAIN'S OLDEST SURVIVING PLAYS TO BE BROUGHT TO LIFE IN THE COUNTRY'S OLDEST WORKING THEATRE SPACE

Mystery plays from the 1300s performed in the far West of Cornwall in September 2021 as part of two-week festival of Cornish culture

From 4th – 18th September 2021, under golden autumn sunsets or the dramatic dark skies of far West Cornwall, all three of the fourteenth century mystery plays will be re-enacted in St Just's Plen an Gwari – one of the two surviving 'places of the play' in Cornwall, and arguably the oldest working open-air theatre space in Britain.

In July 1969, Bristol University Drama Department performed the Ordinalia cycle at Perran Round, Perranporth which was believed to be the first production of the Ordinalia for 300 years. It has since been performed in 2000-2004 by the St Just community. St Just-in-Penwith will again use the 14th century stage plans and scripts to present a new community production of this significant trilogy.

The powerful, open-air biblical performances will form part of an entire two-week festival, celebrating Cornish culture and heritage, comprising a variety of dynamic workshops for festival ticket-holders, covering topics such as: Cornish language, Cornish singing, Cornish dancing, Cornish wrestling as well as fascinating town trail tours.

St Just-in-Penwith is the nearest town to Land's End. Situated in the craggy far west of Cornwall, on the edge of the moors and close to the rugged north coast. Once the mining centre of the peninsula, granite cottages and disused engine houses dominate the landscape. The historic amphitheatre and the focal point of St Just, the Plen an Gwari ('playing place') has something uniquely spiritual about it. Here audiences will be able to see all three Ordinalia plays in one week, which will be repeated during the second week, surrounded by angels, devils, the crucifixion and Noah's Ark, offering a powerful, divine and otherworldly experience altogether.

The plays were likely written by the clerics of Glasney College, Penryn in medieval Cornish with Latin stage directions sometime in the fourteenth century, and form the basis of our understanding of the Cornish language. The 2021 performances will coincide with the loan of the Bodleian Ordinalia manuscript to Kresen Kernow, Cornwall's new archive centre. Throughout 2021 Kresen Kernow will also be running a programme entitled My Cornwall, My Home, which covers three exhibitions as well as the loans of six historic documents (including the Ordinalia and the historic Bodmin Gospels) from national institutions.

The Ordinalia is considered the oldest surviving trilogy of plays in Britain and were originally performed to spread Christian ideas and messages the local population. Unique to Cornwall and its heritage, the three plays; The Creation of the World (Origo Mundi); The Passion (Passio Domini), and The Resurrection (Resurrexio Domini), collectively cover the whole scope of the bible stories from the beginning of the world to doomsday.

Ordinalia Artistic Director, Jason Squibb, commented, “We are incredibly passionate about resurrecting the Ordinalia trilogy in 2021 in the homeland of the medieval plays. Cornwall is renowned for its outdoor theatre spectacles and people come from all over the world to engage with Cornish culture in the fresh air and beauty of the landscape surrounding us. This will be no different.”

Jason continued, “For these performances, we will be expertly combining the talents of the top creative professionals in Cornwall and the magical setting of an ancient Plen, with audiences sat in the midst of angels and devils, surrounded by beautiful choral singing and watching the power of these epic, biblical stories unfold – it is going to be intensely uplifting! In addition to the performances, there will be a whole host of fascinating workshops and sessions including Cornish wrestling! Now that's not to be missed!”

Sir Mark Rylance, Actor, Theatre Director and Playwright is supporting the St Just Ordinalia project. He said, "I am delighted to support this visionary project, and lend my name to its promotion. I have always been an avid supporter of community theatre, and the benefit it brings, helping people to feel more confident, that they matter, and have a contribution to make, where they can be part of a larger wondrous and joyful thing.”

St Just's Ordinalia company comprises professionals, semi-professionals and talented and committed community volunteers. The company's long-term ambition is to use the sets, scripts, scores and costumes from the 2021 production to recreate these plays every three years, so that future generations can experience and take part in this unique experience. St Just's Ordinalia will then be a permanent event on Cornwall's cultural calendar and inspire generations for many years to come.

2021 will see much celebration around the return of the manuscripts to Kresen Kernow through it's Out of the Ordinary exhibition and will be supported by other programmes of activity including a series of Cornish language workshops and activities organised via a network of Cornish language voluntary organisations, An Rosweyth.

Funding for the project, which has been three years in the planning, comes from Cornwall Council, Arts Council England, FEAST and other public and private charitable bodies.

For more information about the St Just Ordinalia project, the performances and other key activities over the fortnight, please visit: https://www.stjustordinalia.com/. Tickets start from £16 and for the entire two-week festival priced from £90.

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Issued by Excess Energy Communications on behalf of Ordinalia St Just. For further information, images or interviews, please contact Sarah Harrington on sarah@Excess-energy.co.uk or call 07714634945. Many thanks.

Note to Editors:
Cornwall Council with additional support from and The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are investing £40,000 into the project through the Ordinalia Nessa Production programme. Cornwall Council's investment into Cornwall's creative industries aims to boost the Cornish economy and encourage communities to get involved with what makes Cornwall's distinct culture and identity so special. In its recently adopted Cornwall's Creative Manifesto 2021-2025, 'Communities' was identified as one of four main ambitions. The Ordinalia productions will complement Kresen Kernow's 'Out of the Ordinary' exhibition which will run from June to September 2021

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