Founded in 1967 the two hour or more drama is played out in the town’s historic square in Somerset in front of hundreds of spectators seated in temporary stands.
Some 15 scenes take the community play from Romano-Britain and the town’s (very dead) first recorded inhabitant to the 21
st century via the Saxons, the Normans, the Tudors and the Victorians. World Wars, spectacular set piece events like the Lady Day Fair, the Monmouth Rebellion and the coming of the railway are all played out. Fights, riots and tragedy are dramatized with poetry, music and historic re-enactment – and many lighter moments including the infamous fighting cleric the Reverend Gould and his clash with the Christian Evangelist Hannah More.
Directed by John Bailey and with a cast of 300, plus around 100 behind the scenes, with horses, tractors and amazing costumed actors – all from the town and its surrounds portraying the people of Axbridge through the ages.
Now tickets are on sale for the event staged every ten years over this coming August bank holiday weekend. Check out
https://axbridgepageant.com/tickets and witness two thousand years of history in a fabulous afternoon of entertainment.