A great Norman church, London’s oldest church, founded in 1129, with its vast, dark Romanesque interior, is a good venue to perform the most celebrated of all medieval morality plays. Written in naive rhyming couplets with humour and pathos, and first performed in the early part of the 15th century, it is a Roman Catholic sermon and powerful dramatic propaganda. The characters are all allegorical.
On the day he is to die, Everyman finds he is totally unprepared to meet his Maker. It is not just the fear of death; it is the fear of damnation. The unknown author traces his pilgrimage to redemption and heaven. He is forsaken by all his so-called friends. Nobody wants to accompany him on his final journey, except Knowledge who takes him to confession where he repents his sins and scourges himself. Only Good Deeds accompanies him to his grave.
I am surprised how few opportunities there have been to see this famous play. A major revival, on the spectacular scale of the William Poel and Ben Greet UK and US productions in the early 1900’s, is long overdue. The present revival, directed by Cecilia Dorland, is modestly staged and acted in the nave of the church, and lasts just under an hour.