Wakefield Mysteries

 

Izze Ginley

10/13/13

EL 207 – Early Brit Lit

Dr. Doug Sugano

The Wakefield Mysteries

            The Wakefield Mysteries, presented by Whitworth Theatre, did an excellent job of entertaining the audience as well as providing a historically accurate portrayal of a medieval play.  I personally was pleasantly surprised about the humorous aspects of the Mysteries, and I learned a ton of background information about theatrical performances of the time. 

            In total, there were ten mini-stories packed into the entire performance.  These stories were all interpretations of biblical passages, made in a modern format for personal application and humorous entertainment.  This production of The Wakefield Mysteries included The Creation, The Fall of Lucifer, The Garden of Eden, The Killing of Abel, and The Flood in Act I.  Then, in Act II, they presented Abraham and Isaac, The Flight Out of Egypt, The Annunciation, Herod and the Three Kings, and The Shepherd’s Play. 

            Throughout the majority of the plays, there were modern interpretations of the biblical stories.  For example, The Killing of Abel consisted of a wheat-farmer version of Cain riding a John Deere tracker and a rancher version of Abel giving a block of Ham as his sacrifice to the Lord.  There was also modernization within The Shepherd’s Play with the homeless people standing in as the shepherds.  These modernizations were intentionally done in order to portray the message that biblical stories can be applied to all cultures and times, and that God’s messages are meant for any generation of His people. I really enjoyed this element of the plays because it brought the themes and messages of the biblical stories closer to my own experiences.

            In the post-performance talk, given by Dr. Doug Sugano and Diana Trotter, this idea of modernizing the bible stories was discussed.  It was said that in the Middle Ages the actors in the Mystery Plays would also interpret the characters into their own culture and time.  The play’s program specifically indicated that the shepherds would have been performed as medieval serfs and Noah would have been a medieval carpenter.  This information gave me great insight into the original time period and helped me paint a picture of what the original performances would have looked like. 

            Another aspect of the Mystery Plays that stood out was the use of humor on such serious topics.  Throughout the plays there were hilarious interpretations of deeper conversations and relationships.  Specifically, the scene of Noah and his wife fighting had the crowd roaring with laughter.  Even though it could have been a very violent scene, the director’s choice to do a gender swap between Noah and his wife made the fighting very entertaining for the audience.  During the post-performance talk, Diana spoke to this directional choice.  She explained that choosing to do the gender swap was not only for humor purposes, but also to convey the fighting between Noah and his wife in a non-abusive way, since our culture sees domestic violence much differently than people of the Middle. 

            Overall, this play was very entertaining and educational. The cast, crew, and band did a phenomenal job with these Wakefield Mystery Plays.  I am so glad that I attended this performance because I gained a much better the understanding of medieval theatre, and I got to experience one of the greatest traditions of the Middle Ages.