Plans and rehearsals for the first Lichfield Mysteries Festival are well underway.

Pupils of The Friary School in rehearsal for their production of The Shepherds
Pupils at The Friary School in rehearsal for their production of The Shepherds

The legacy of the Mystery Plays, part of the community life of the city since 1994, is being carried on by students from Lichfield schools and the college.

Students from Lichfield Cathedral School, The Friary, King Edward VI, Nether Stowe and South Staffordshire College will perform a selection of plays in the non-competitive festival in February.

Arranged by the Trustees of Lichfield Mysteries Community Arts (LMCA), the Festival will also feature a production by Adolf Reichwein Schule Theatre Group from Lichfield’s twin town of Limburg an der Lahn.

Each of the participating schools will receive £500 from LMCA to assist in their productions.

Rick Hill, Chair of LMCA, said: “Though the plays as they were produced in the past were extremely popular, circumstances have forced changes in the way we present the Mysteries, and we are delighted that these schools and colleges, which are such an important and vibrant part of our city’s community, have come forward to help preserve an older tradition, and hopefully to start a new one.”

The school and college staff have each chosen a number of the 27 short plays in the Mysteries cycle to perform in their own establishments and have selected one or two plays to perform in the festival.

The festival is in the theatre of The Friary School on 9th February at 2pm. Tickets are £3 and are available from the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum on Breadmarket Street. For more details visit www.lichfieldmysteries.co.uk.