PERFORMANCE OF MEDIEVAL RELIGIOUS MYSTERY PLAY AS THEATRICAL ART GENRE AND PRECURSOR OF 'POLITICAL THEATRE'

The article deals with the notion and essence of performance as a cultural and social category, the origins of mystery plays and the characteristics of performing medieval mystery plays as appeals to the sacred and the 'political theatre' of the Middle Ages. It is shown that in the 14th -16th centuries, the mystery play becomes a widespread genre of theatrical art under the aegis of the Catholic Church. However, the increasing role of secularism and the need to consolidate monarchical power give performative practices of the mystery play a social and political meaning, in which religious and sacred stories are replaced with military-political and social-historical.