The medieval mystery plays are steeped in Christian imagery, yet their emotional charge means they communicate powerfully to a secular audience. And whatever one’s religious affiliations, Mark Dornford-May’s adaptation of the Chester cycle of mysteries is utterly captivating.

Dornford-May has imbued these dramas — a legacy of the age of Chaucer — with a zestily contemporary South African tang. Part of the excitement of his production, in which English rubs up against Latin as well as Xhosa and Afrikaans, is its bold physicality.

At times we are linguistically baffled, but the tenor of the action is clear. Drawing on familiar stories, ranging from Genesis to the Resurrection, The Mysteries enacts the highlights of Christian myth (and its baser moments) in a manner at once savoury and scandalous.

Well-known episodes are reimagined with a sumptuous impertinence that is nonetheless cogent: the temptation of Eve, for instance, has an almost pornographic spiciness, while the Flood is limned hilariously.

After a whistle-stop tour of the Old Testament we plunge into the New; prolific humour gives way to pathos. Operatic singing and the pulsating music of the townships combine with visceral percussion and an assortment of improvised instruments to create a dynamic, richly engaging soundscape.

Dornford-May’s direction is nothing short of visionary. Every member of the company he has assembled seems precisely committed to his cause. The actors, drawn from Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, enchant with their mixture of gravity and comedy.

Under the circumstances it seems invidious to train attention on particular performers, but Noluthando Boqwana is a fiery delight as the leather-clad Lucifer, Zamile Gantana brings sunny buffoonery to the role of Noah, and Pauline Malefane, besides being one of the show’s musical directors, is spellbinding as the Creator and then as Jesus.

Indeed, Malefane is an actor whose bearing combines steely might with a winning benignity. She magnetises attention — and deserves an international reputation.

The Mysteries is total theatre, an event that affirms one’s faith in the form. It is an exhilarating sensory feast — a timeless narrative, conveyed in a pungently modern style.

Until 3 October (0844 579 1974).