IL  CORAGO

PLAY-TIME: ancient ritual, ordered chaos, medieval opera

Ludus Danielis, the 12th-century Play of Daniel – an exquisite manuscript, a treasure-chest of ancient melodies, a sacred ritual, a musical mystery play, a late-night party, a workshop for singers and musicians, a liturgical drama, a framework for improvisation, a code of behaviour, the younger generation’s outburst against authority, a regional protest against central government, a unique moment of emotional release in a world of work – can well be described as ‘medieval opera’.

Andrew Lawrence-King’s staged production transports the audience back in time, to experience the largest-scale musical work of the Middle Ages as participants. In the role of the townspeople of Beauvais, they witness an extraordinary spectacle of partying monks, hide-and-seek and running games, a donkey on the loose, beautiful Queens & feasting Kings, doom-laden writing on the wall, invasion and assassination, political intrigue, unfairly discriminatory legislation, a thrilling escape from savage lions, a hungry guru (a legend in his own hair-raising lunchtime), apocalyptic prophecy, angelic revelation, bitter lamenting and joyful celebration.

To poetry and music in the strong rhythms of conductus, monks step out in procession, musicians improvise thousands of variations, harps and drums play, choristers clap hands and dance. In the title-role, a medieval tenor faces the challenges of a two-octave musical range, dramatic twists from triumph to disaster and back again, and a Den full of Lions. 

Within the ancient cathedral the Work of God, the eternal round of plainchant liturgy marked the weeks, the days, the hours. Even at midnight, the monks broke the Great Silence to sing the service of Mattins. But on one cold, dark night in the northern French Abbey of Beauvais, a young lad interrupted the sacred ritual to announce Playtime…