Imagine the medieval York Corpus Christi Plays: fifty short play scripts, each one based on a different Bible story (or on medieval “fanfic” of the Bible), each one produced and performed by a different craft guild (or other group), all on one day. Nearly every year, from 1376 to 1569, the playmakers of York put their plays on wagon stages and pulled them across the whole city, with each of the fifty plays repeating at each of twelve different stations, from sunrise well into the night. Their massive biblical drama focuses primarily on the lives of Jesus and his mother Mary, but the story extends all the way back to God’s creation of the universe, and continues forward to the Last Judgment.

On Saturday, June 7, 2025 (rain date Sunday, June 8), starting at 6:00am — and likely continuing past midnight — seventeen performance groups from across North America, organized and hosted by PLS and the CRRS, will converge on Toronto to present all of the York Plays in medieval style. We will repeat each play on replica wagon stages, across three performance stations, outdoors (no chairs!), at:

BURWASH QUAD
AT VICTORIA UNIVERSITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
89-93 CHARLES STREET WEST
TORONTO, ON, CANADA M5S 1K6

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
(BEFORE ATTENDING, CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION)
PERFORMANCES SATURDAY JUNE 7, 2025, 6:00AM TO PAST MIDNIGHT, OUTDOORS*
(WORKSHOPS, TALKS, AND DISCUSSION SUNDAY JUNE 8, 2025, 10AM TO 6PM, INDOORS)

*Depending on weather, we may switch our Sat and Sun schedules with little notice.
If weather shuts down both available days, the event may be cancelled without notice.
Plan accordingly and check here for updates.