Canterbury Cathedral revives play tradition

A revival of cathedral and church-based theatre productions is being heralded by a new production in Canterbury Cathedral, the venue for which T S Eliot wrote ‘Murder in the Cathedral’. Sebastian Barry’s ‘Dallas Sweetman’ (pictured) was commissioned by Canterbury Cathedral and Canterbury Festival with theatre company Paines Plough, restoring a tradition dating from the 1920s for commissioning plays for Canterbury Cathedral from the leading contemporary playwrights, who included Laurie Lee, Dorothy L Sayers, Christopher Fry and John Masefield. The production will tour to other cathedrals, churches and other historic locations during 2009.