ONLY a lack of will - practical and political - will prevent York from staging the Mystery Plays again in 2004 or 2005.

So says David Howard, the man whose company, Scapegoat, produced the last plays to be staged in the Museum Gardens in 1988.

Mr Howard spoke out after the Evening Press reported last week how rival northern historic city Chester was staging its own plays this month on the city's cathedral green, and would be organising more in 2008.

York's plays, which should have been performed again next year under the traditional four-year cycle, may not be staged once more until at least 2010 - and possibly not even then. Mr Howard said of the Press's Chester article: "It proves absolutely that the only thing stopping York maintaining the four-year cycle is the will, both political and practical, to get up and make it happen - even for 2004.

"Since 1988, Scapegoat have gone on to produce events for some of the best-known companies in the UK, Europe and the USA - and I simply cannot believe that the Mystery Plays cannot be sustained in York on a quadrennial basis."

He called on City of York Council to take a lead in saving the plays.

He also said the most useful long-term gesture that the authority could make would be to guarantee to underwrite any potential losses.

He said there had been problems in 1988, but these had been more to do with internal conflict between the then York City Council and the Festival Board and Directorate, which ran the plays, than the plays as such.

"As 'producer' of the event, I know that the plays in 1988, from a technical and structural standpoint, came in within the budget and contingency set in our contract.

"Box office earnings were, I believe, set to a level where we needed to fill almost every performance to break even - a political, rather than a business decision."

Updated: 10:35 Wednesday, July 09, 2003