Miracle and mystery plays were a form of medieval drama.  These plays were mostly religious and were used to teach people about the bible.  

Mystery plays were stories taken from the both the old and new testament. These plays were made up of around four or five scenes, with priests and monks as the actors. These plays were usually performed around towns, with the final scene taking place outside the church before a sermon.

The Miracle play was about usually a more general religious play, usually about the life of a saint and about the actions that made that person a saint.

This documentary on miracle and mystery plays features Sally Miles, Director of the Abbey Theatre Production of ‘Miracle’ series; Tom Kilroy from University College Galway; Reverent William O’Neill; Bishop John Bale, playwright and Bishop of Ossory & extracts from plays.

First Broadcast 30th March 1969.

Produced and presented by Seán Mac Réamoinn.

An Irish radio documentary from RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland - Documentary on One - the home of Irish radio documentaries.