York may have to wait another seven years for its next Mystery Plays.

Mike Laycock reveals why a modern tradition stretching back to 1951 has bitten the dust.

They date back almost 700 years to medieval York. The original York Cycle Of Mystery Plays, telling the story of Christian birth, death and resurrection, were first performed in the 14th century on pageant wagons wheeled around the city's cobbled streets on the Feast Of Corpus Christi. The tradition continued for more than 200 years before the last recorded performance in 1569.

The Mystery Plays were revived in 1951 as part of the York Festival Of The Arts, which in turn was part of the Festival Of Britain. They were staged in the atmospheric ruins of St Mary's Abbey in the Museum Gardens, and among the cast was a York girl called Judi Dench who, in the later production of 1957, played the Virgin Mary.

For decades, the plays were held in the Gardens, first every three years and then once every four years. The weather was probably the biggest problem. Audiences could look forward to a glorious summer's evening, with the sun setting behind the abbey.

On the other hand, it could chuck it down, leaving them drenched. In 1988, a massive thunderstorm even cut off the electricity, at the exact moment the Creation Scene was starting, and the audience had to be sent home for safety reasons.

A succession of big-name professional actors were brought in to play Christ, including All Creatures Great And Small star Christopher Timothy, Young Winston actor Simon Ward and Victor Banerjee, from A Passage To India.

It was after the 1988 production that the plays began to hit stormy waters. The costs for infrastructure, such as seating, were rising. And the council was becoming unhappy about funding the whole York Festival.

So it was scrapped and prospects for the Mystery Plays looked bleak for 1992, until the Theatre Royal stepped in and agreed to host the event, which starred Robson Green of Casualty and Soldier, Soldier fame. The theatre again hosted the Plays in 1996, when Rory Mulvihill, a leading figure from York's amateur acting scene, became the first non-professional to play Christ in more than 20 years.

Then, in 1997, the Dean of York, the Very Reverend Raymond Furnell, announced the new Millennium was to be celebrated with a special production of the Plays in the Minster.

The Minster Plays were a stunning success, with all 28,000 tickets sold. The audience came from all over Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and even Papua New Guinea. The Duke of York attended the first night and the production was directed by Gregory Doran, associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

But what next? As the Evening Press asked on the day of the final performance in the Minster, on July 22, 2000: "How do we beat that in 2004?"

The answer is York won't even attempt to match it.

The Dean made it clear in 2000 that it would not be appropriate for the Minster to host the Plays again in 2004, saying: "I don't think the church would want to "reclaim" the Mystery Plays; we don't feel any territorial rights to them." He also said there needed to be a citywide discussion about what should happen next, and suggested the city council call a meeting to allow this to happen.

The Dean put his finger on one of the central problems concerning the Plays' future: "No one really owns the Plays.

On the one hand, that's rather charming and enchanting; on the other, it has financial implications."

At that time, the council's then acting head of leisure, Charlie Croft, stressed the authority wanted the plays to continue, but in a "manageable" manner.

He said the council could not guarantee there would be money for the Plays but it would confirm their continuity and a support structure.

The York Minster Mystery Plays board, which organised the 2000 production, now feels it would be best for practical and financial reasons to try to stage another one in the cathedral in 2010. The once-a-decade timespan would reflect that of the equally famous Oberammergau celebrations in Germany. However, even a 2010 production in the Minster will require the agreement of the Reverend Furnell's successor as Dean, who has yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, no other organisation has yet come forward to stage another event elsewhere.

Even if a saviour did emerge, it is now almost certainly too late to stage the Plays in 2004 because it takes much longer than 12 months to organise something of this scale.

But that doesn't prevent some people, such as Rory Mulvihill, the Jesus Christ of the 1996 Plays and the Devil of 2000, thinking something should be done for 2005.

And he doesn't think another performance on the back of pageant wagons on the streets of York, as is possible, would be enough to compensate for the loss of the full-blown production.

"The wagon plays are very good in their own right, but they are a different beast and should not be considered a substitute or an equal," he says.

He believes it is not essential for the Minster to be the venue for every production, with both the Museum Gardens and Theatre Royal successfully used in the past.

Theatre Royal chief executive Ludo Keston fears that, after the magnificent setting of the Minster, any other venue would be a disappointment.

He has spoken of the possibility of a major community play being staged, involving York's amateur actors and focusing on the city's history.

Delma Tomlin, who was administrator to the 1984 Mystery Plays and chief executive for the 2000 production, says people wanting to know more about the history of the Plays should log on to www.yorkmysteryplays.org, a website set up with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

She is in no doubt about the special role of the Plays in York's remarkable heritage. "The Mystery Plays are the most important cultural experience of the of York, and it's certainly essential they aren't in any way lost."

Few would disagree with that.

Updated: 10:48 Friday, June 13, 2003