A comic, sometimes soulful, rogue will take over a York church on three days to bring the city’s history to life.

Actors and backstage staff will stage “Punch Porteous – Lost in Time” at All Saints’ Church in North Street.

They will portray how the title role, Punch, finds himself waking up in different periods of York’s history, dazed and confused, while the city shape-shifts around him.

The production by York-based poet Robert Powell and creative practitioner Ben Pugh and produced by John Beecroft, features Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Mediaeval, Georgian, Victorian, and modern times.

The performance is part of the church’s programme to restore and promote its mediaeval and stained-glass windows, funded partly by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and will highlight aspects of the building’s history as well as York’s history.

READ MORE: the 13 mediaeval windows that needed restoration.

READ MORE: how the £500,000 conservation project began

The performance will involve sound, images, the spoken word, film and performance.

Robert Powell said: “It's fantastic that All Saints has commissioned a new contemporary work by local artists, and for us to be able to base it in one of the city's most iconic and mysterious buildings.

“We’re still in the preliminary stages, but we're hugely excited. Audiences will be able to hear about Punch's adventures and the rich history of York - its rivers, streets, strays, and stories - in one of its most extraordinary sites.

"And of course we're expecting the evasive Punch to turn up at All Saints during the performance!"

Bishop Glyn Webster, Priest-in-Charge at All Saints North Street, added, “The Church has a long history of commissioning works of art and – thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund - we are delighted to be able to continue this tradition by commissioning a performance that celebrates our wonderful church, the City of York, and the people who have lived and worshipped here through the centuries.”

‘Punch Porteous – Lost In Time’ will run from 26th to 28th October.