THE York Mystery Plays are back on the wagon for 2018 on September 9, 12 and 16, and among those taking to the streets will be the York Mystery Plays Supporters Trust, presenting The Harrowing Of Hell.

Directed by ex-pat New Yorker Ben Prusiner, their play can be seen at the four stations from the 11am start at College Green, St Sampson's Square, St Helen's Square and King's Manor – dubbed The Green, The Fair, The Streets and The Stage – on the two Sundays.

In addition, it will be one of the five plays in a new venture for 2018, The Mysteries After Dark, presented next Wednesday from 6.30pm in an exploration of the darker side of the York Mysteries, as lost souls cry out for salvation at the Shambles Market.

As part of 2018 artistic director and Pageant Master Tom Straszewski's vision for staging 11 plays in the York Festival Trust and York Guilds' four-yearly cycle of Mystery Plays performances, the Supporters Trust's New Testament rendition of The Harrowing Of Hell will be paired with an Old Testament play, Mike Tyler's production of The Hosiers' Play, Moses and Pharaoh, for St Luke's Church.

"We've had conversations; we've traded scripts and we've adapted our script to make links between the two plays, and indeed some academics believe they were written by the same writer as Moses is in both plays," says Prusiner.

His directing skills had already made such an impression on York with his York Shakespeare Project and Re:Verse Theatre productions when he set his sights on directing this particular Mystery Play. "When I knew they were coming up and wanted to be involved in this special event that only happens every four years, The Harrowing Of Hell leapt out, with Jesus and Satan's battle of wits and so many visual possibilities with souls trapped in limbo and a Devil Army of Hell," he says.

"When I made my pitch at the interviews, I suggested the devils should be wearing armour made of objects to correspond to each sin, such as a gas mask for the Pollution Devil and a weapon made of selfie sticks for the Devil of Vanity, and I envisioned Hell as a post-industrial prison complex."

The Supporters Trust are particularly keen to promote access to participation in the plays and for people in York to be able to attend productions. "This was behind our bid for charity funding, which resulted in York Common Good Trust funding our initiative to provide 20 seats at the King's Manor stage, plus transport and catering for those who are physically or financially unable to come along to a production independently," says chairwoman Linda Terry. "So we're extremely grateful to the trust for funding this in full. We'll be providing people with afternoon tea at Belfry Hall afterwards, with some of the catering being kindly being provided by Bettys tea rooms."

As for the wagon, it will be both old and new for 2018. "We insisted on pneumatic wheels," says assistant director and producer Simon Tompsett. For more information on York Mystery Plays 2018, visit yorkmysteryplays.co.uk

Charles Hutchinson