What's the big Mystery? - documenting York Minster's Mystery Plays

The Mystery Plays have been part of York's history since, well, Adam was a lad, and the 2016 telling of the tales has been the biggest yet.

I have had the fortunate role of documenting the process as it unfolds. This has included photographing meetings, rehearsals, royal visits, prop-making, and the performance itself.

In addition to this though, a whole creative campaign was produced featuring my portraits of some of the key characters. These intense, low-key shots complemented the edgy production, directed by Philip Breen and designed by Max Jones.

As a photographer, the biggest, and most rewarding challenge though, has been watching and shooting the people of York (it's predominantly a community cast) as they rose to the occasion and exceed all expectations, gathering fantastic reviews along the way from local, national and international reviewers.

To get a flavour of the atmosphere around the production (and to see me in action at 1:27), take a look at this video from York Minster:

My images from the plays have featured in local and national papers and magazines as well as numerous blogs, websites and social media campaigns. The images have also been used on billboards, banners, adbikes, newspaper and magazine ads and buses.

You don't have to have a cast of hundreds to get the same service though, and I won't make a drama out of photographing you or your business, so get in touch, but in the meantime, here's a tiny selection of my images of York Minster's Mystery Plays unfolding.