Mysterious incident in the churchyard - Pantomine donkey leads train of children through streets of Clerkenwell

Published: 21 May 2010
by JOSH LOEB

A PANTOMIME donkey led a train of children through the streets of Clerkenwell on Friday.

Around 100 pupils from local primary schools including Hugh Myddelton and St John the Evangelist carried banners and shields and sang chants as they marched through Exmouth Market. 

When they arrived at their destination, the Holy Redeemer Church off Rosebery Avenue, they donned hats and wigs to star in modern interpretations of the Clerkenwell Mysteries, a series of plays based on Bible stories that were performed in the area in the Middle Ages.

The event, which was funded by the Holy Redeemer Church and Clerkenwell-based London Metropolitan Archive, was led by   Big Wheel Theatre Company, who use theatre to teach children about history. 

Sketches included The Easter Story (performed in the style of the Jerry Springer Show) and Apostolic Mission, described by Big Wheel project co-ordinator Lauren Milburn as “like The X-Factor”.

A play about the apocalypse, in which aliens did battle with Earthlings, was also performed.

Big Wheel’s UK schools project director Rhiannon Fisher said: “The plays were  reinterpretations of biblical stories. We brought them up to  date, which is what the creators of the Clerkenwell Mysteries were doing back in the day.”