The City Speaks: Site-Specificity and Performance in the 'York Corpus Christi Play'

The basis of this study is to examine the relationship between the York Corpus Christi Play and its medieval performance sites in York, focusing on how the place memory of particular locales can enrich the audiences' reception of the pageants. After tracing through the medieval performance history of the Play, the thesis explores the concept of site-specific performance which is followed by two case studies that articulate how place and memory can inform a viewing of two pageants: The Entry into Jerusalem and The Last Judgement. The final section takes up the modern reproductions of the Play in York and how relocating the performances to sites in the city that are not on the medieval cycle route can conjure place memories that emphasize the coterminous realities of the pageants.