FOLLOWING your recent report on the proposals to stage a production of the Mystery Plays in York Minster in 2010, with sponsorship of £100,000 towards costs from the city council, may I offer an alternative perspective?

The York Guilds will present Mystery Plays on pageant wagons on the streets of York on July 9 and 16 next year in keeping with the four-yearly cycle that has been successfully followed since 1994.

These productions have always included plays in the Museum Gardens.

The guilds' production is truer in spirit to both the medieval original and the 1950s revival and creates an exciting and colourful spectacle in the city.

The guilds, as the original performers of these plays, are reclaiming their heritage and while nobody "owns" the plays, the guilds have the greatest claim to be their guardians.

City of York Council has fully supported the guilds in their endeavours by providing essential administrative assistance as well as funding of about £2,000 for each production; a sum which, along with gifts from many other sponsors, has enabled us to stage a dramatic spectacle which enjoys great popular, academic and critical acclaim, provides opportunities for great community involvement, and is part of the tourism product of York. The York Guilds' Mystery Plays Board is already looking to its 2010 production. Should a Minster production be staged, we would be happy to work with the Dean and Chapter to ensure the success of both productions.

Roger Lee,

Chairman,

York Guilds' Mystery Plays Board,

Albemarle Road,

York.

Updated: 10:18 Friday, November 18, 2005