Edward’s Boys Production of The Enterlude of the Godly Queen Hester
We are delighted to announce performances of The Enterlude of the Godly Queen Hester, the latest production by Edward’s Boys.
Unperformed since the sixteenth century, and now played once more by a boys’ company, this play about the revered Old Testament Queen Esther is also a political satire on the fall of Thomas Wolsey, right-hand man of Henry VIII. Written in 1529 by Anonymous, King Assuerus can be seen as Henry, Esther as Katherine of Aragon, and Aman as the disgraced Cardinal. The ‘evil counsellor’ figure was important to Tudor drama of dissent; when it was unsafe to criticise the monarch directly, it was possible instead to attack his advisors, and blame unpopular policies on their bad advice.
Alongside the English Enterlude, Edward’s Boys will also present a short purimshpil, a Jewish folk play of the time. The purim plays (still a living tradition in Yiddish) tell the story of Esther in a rather different mode, celebrating the rescue of the Jewish people by their heroine in farcical style.
The Esther double-bill is part of a tripartite academic project supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation on the late medieval/early modern Abrahamic theatrical tradition – Jewish, Iranian and English. The production of the Hester double-bill is supported by the Historic Royal Palaces ‘Henry on Tour’ Project, details of which can be found via this link: www.henryontour.uk/blog/playing-henry-tour-historic-performances-forgotten-satirical-drama
We would be really pleased if you are able to join us at one of the shows.
Thursday 20th, Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd March at 7.00pm:
Big School. King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BE
Full price: £10; Concessions: £6
Sunday 23rd March at 6.00pm
The Charterhouse, Charterhouse Square, Clerkenwell, London EC1M 6AN.
Book via www.thecharterhouse.digitickets.co.uk/category/61320
Friday 28th March at 6.30pm
Christ Church Research Centre, St Aldate’s, Oxford OX1 1DP (with pre-show talks open to all who wish to attend).
Full price: £16; Concessions: £10
Incldues FREE Pre-show talks: please email elisabeth.dutton@unifr.ch if you wish to attend these.
4.00pm Prof. Cora Dietl, talk on ‘The Esther tradition and Reformation Europe’
4:45-5:15pm Cantor Bex introduces the purim tradition, and a Q and A session with Bea Baldwin
Wednesday 25th June at 5.00pm
British Shakespeare Association Conference, Dixon Drama Studio, University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5DD.
Full price: £16; Concessions: £10
Saturday 19th July at 7.30pm
Société Internationale pour l’étude du théâtre medieval Conference, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Monday 21st July at 7.00pm
West Horsley Place, Leatherhead, Surrey KT24 6AN.
Collection taken at the end of the performance.
Tickets for all performances (apart from Layer Marney Tower and The Charterhouse – see their websites) may be purchased via https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/kes