Historical background

The Theatrum Mundi festival – and in particular The Sacred and the Profane show – celebrated the dramatic traditions of the North East. It drew on research being conducted within the Department of English Studies at Durham University, as part of an AHRC-funded project called Records of Early English Drama North East. This forms part of a massive international project to assemble a complete survey of medieval and early modern performance in Britain. The Sacred and the Profane was inspired by various influences from this period, including:

• The legends of North East dragons and worms
• The tradition of boy bishops processing to Durham Cathedral
• Dance in Renaissance courts
• The danse macabre, or dance of death