Catherine Bennett resumes the weekly look at the performing arts world, with the sad end of Jerusalem, the luck of a cabbie, and French revolt. Do you hear the people sing?
Adam Alcock reviews Nigel Kennedy playing Vivaldi's Four Seasons and his own Four Elements at York Opera House.
Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
Jonathan Cridford reviews 'Ghosts', one of the Freshers' plays for this year.
Not many people, especially undergraduates, have heard of the Lords of Misrule. Tell us more about your theatre company.
We are a completely amateur company based at the Centre of Medieval Studies (CMS) at King’s Manor. Lords was set up 40 years ago by postgraduate students at the CMS interested in performing medieval drama in its original language (usually Middle English). This was a big thing in the 1960s; University of Toronto in Canada had a similar group. In the intervening four decades of our existence we’ve performed everything from adaptations of Beowulf to the York Mystery Plays Cycle.
Is it mainly postgraduate students who make up Lords?
Yes, the core of Lords are MA candidates in Medieval Studies. However, we have a number of PhD students as well to allow for some continuity – in fact, our committee is entirely comprised of PhD students. There are also people who have gotten involved through friends or general casting calls, so there are a small number of undergraduates who have performed in our productions. I’ve personally been in Lords for about three years now – I started as an MA student in Archaeology and when I finished that I stayed on in York and have been involved ever since.
Tell us more about Mankynde, the play you’re directing for this double-bill.
Mankynd was probably performed by monks at the monastery of Bury St Edmunds, and dates to the late 15th century. The audience would have comprised of monks, pilgrims and the general populace of the area. It is about a farmer called Mankind, who represents mankind in general, and who tries his best to lead a good, moral life. Two characters called Mercy and Mischief turn up and essentially challenge each other to a game for Mankind’s soul.
Sounds interesting. What about Everyman, the other half of the double-bill?
Everyman is being directed by Cyrus Malekpour and it’s a lot more whimsical than Mankynde. Essentially, it’s a fairytale about how Death comes to the character of Everyman (again representative of a common man) and he is summoned to heaven. Everyman spends most of the play trying to get his friends (Good Deeds, Knowledge, Discretion etc.) to join him.
What was the reasoning behind choosing to stage these two plays?
Well, they are probably the finest examples of late medieval drama. They are both extremely well written and exhibit a great deal of subtlety in terms of its language, themes and characterisation- as well as broader humour. They’d also have been performed around winter and have lots of references to the weather, which suits all the snow and ice we’re having now! Mankynde even has a section where a Christmas carol is sung!
The plays will be performed in Middle English. How are you catering for an audience who may not necessarily understand the archaic language of the play?
As a director I chose to cast my actors according to how they could bring a strong identity to their characters. I’ve placed a strong emphasis on physical action because there might be communication difficulties due to the language. For Mankynde I’ve also been influenced by some recognisable contemporary films like A Clockwork Orange and Trainspotting. In addition to that, there will be quite a bit of audience participation as well – singing and dancing, more specifically! There’ll be a Christmassy air to our production, so there’ll be mulled wine and minced pies and medieval Christmas carols performed by the Lords’ Minstrels, a choir linked to our theatre group.
Do you believe that medieval drama is still relevant today?
Yes, quite strongly. There is a tendency to think that medieval drama is completely unapproachable and difficult to understand, and that it’s all about religion. While it would be foolish to ignore or downplay the religious aspects of the morality plays, it doesn’t overburden the play. Instead it provides a backdrop to it. If you look at most drama prior to the 19th century there’s often a moral about how to live well or how not to live well, and these are debates that go on today even without the religious context. Binge drinking, violence on the street, the impact of volunteer work and good deeds – all these current issues are similar to the questions raised by medieval drama.
The Lords of Misrule Present: Immorality – A Double Bill of Everyman and Mankynde runs from 9th December to 11th December at St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, YO1 6EN. Showtime 7.30 pm. Tickets are £7 (£5 concessions) including complimentary mince pies and mulled wine. Email: lordsofmisrule@gmail.com.
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