Aldermaston prepares for 63rd York mystery

Community tells the story of the first Christmas

IT hardly seems possible that we are again approaching that time of year when we’re given the chance to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas at Aldermaston’s York Nativity Play. Aldermaston performs the eight Nativity plays of the 14th-century Mystery Play Cycle each year to tell the story of the first Christmas. Around 70 members of the community of Aldermaston and the surrounding area will come together, in medieval costume, for the 63rd consecutive year, to perform this well-known story for four nights. They take us all back to simpler historic times through language, music, costume and place. Set not on the pageant wagons, as they were in the streets of York, but in the beautiful, atmospheric 12th-century St Mary the Virgin parish church, Aldermaston – recently designated one of the Church of England’s 100 National Treasures.

Read more about it, including free ticket information, in this week's Newbury Weekly News.