Michael Fabricant became Archangel for a day when he started the
Lichfield Mysteries Treasure Hunt on Sunday 24th June. Michael was
created an Archangel by the Mysteries Committee to recognise his support
for the group. "Lichfield Mysteries involves the production of 26
short plays, enabling performance on a scale normally unavailable and
encompasses all aspects of the arts. It is a community theatre project,
taking place every three years, since 1994. It has become an important
part of the cultural heritage of Lichfield and is one of the largest,
free community arts events in the UK" says Michael Fabricant. "It
deserves our support. The next performances take place in May 2009 and I
look forward to participating in the occasion."

Polly Dixon, Chairman of the Lichfield Mysteries, says: "The plays are
performed by a diverse range of amateur groups from the local community.
Over 500 people perform with a further 200 involved with music,
technical crew, stewarding, costuming etc. We include anyone who wishes
to take part – in 2006 our youngest participant was six years old and
the oldest over eighty. People who have never performed before work
alongside experienced amateur performers. In 2006, over 200 people
attended drama workshops, as a result of which, several plays were
performed by groups of individuals coming together specifically for the
Mysteries. A group of difficult to reach young people were trained in
street theatre skills and performed ‘The Prologue’ as well as
entertaining the crowds. The cycle takes thirteen hours and is
performed twice over the May Day Bank Holiday. Audiences number
thousands. At any given time, around 2000 people will be watching the
plays over the three stages. For much of the 2006 production, the
Cathedral was full to capacity – over 1000 in the audience."

The event, held on stages both in Lichfield Cathedral and in the City
itself, is completely free, both for participants and audience.

Photographs show Archangel Michael Fabricant with some of the actors in the Mysteries.