Scene 5: the Dolphin, Sittingbourne; Day 5 of the Pilgrimage
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THE CANTERBURY TALES
ACT TWO
Scene 5: the Dolphin, Sittingbourne; day 5 of the pilgrimage
5a As the lights come up, the whole cast except the more refined or more staid pilgrims, are reprising the verse of –
31: THE SEVEN DEADLIES reprise SONG: THE SEVEN DEADLIES
Lechery, gluttony, sloth and pride, The gates of hell are open wide; Envy with your dying breath, Come and do the Dance of - 5b But the song is interrupted as the singers are ejected from the inn by the landlady (Marian), their bags thrown after them.
MARIAN Get out and stay out! Bloody tourists! All the same these pilgrims. Hooligans, the lot of them! More trouble than they’re worth! They come here, crowding the place out – my regulars can’t get within shouting distance of the bar – and then they have the nerve to complain that the beer’s off!
JOAN Well, don’t take it too personally, Marian. That big miller with the hairs in his nose had the doors of the Seven Stars off its hinges last night. Run at it with his head, if you please. For a bet!
ELEANOR Mind you, we’d miss their money.
MARIAN I beg your pardon.
ELEANOR The holiday trade. I said we’d miss it if they stopped coming.
MARIAN You speak for yourself. I’ve got a comfortable little turnover here. I don’t need their money that badly.
Brief pause.
JOAN I think what I object to most is the gawping.
ELEANOR The what?
JOAN The gawping. The way the gawp.
ELEANOR Oh. I can’t say as I’d noticed.
JOAN I mean, you’d think Sittingbourne was Constantinople, the way they point and stare all the time.
MARIAN I know what you mean, dear. One of them had the nerve to tell me I talked funny.
JOAN He never did!
MARIAN Well, not in so many words. But he had the cheek to ask me to repeat myself so he could write it down – that embarrassed-looking one with the red coat.
JOAN Oh, Mr Chowder.
ELEANOR Chaucer.
JOAN Whatever.
Pause. 31 I can’t make out what’s come over people these days. Things haven’t been the same since that Peasants’ Revolt.
ELEANOR Oh, I think folk are much the same as they always have been. Wherever you go.
MARIAN Sssh!
The Friar passes and waves.
Now there’s an exception!
JOAN Oooh, yes. Charming man.
ELEANOR How do you know?
JOAN I went to confession this morning.
ELEANOR With him?
JOAN Mmm. Such a sympathetic man. I felt he really understood a woman, do you know what I mean?
MARIAN Perfectly, dear. Some men just have that… warmth, don’t they? (Giggles) Did you notice his lisp?
JOAN Yes. (Giggles) His name’s Hubert!
MARIAN Hubert!
JOAN That’s what he said. And – promise not to tell. He gave me this.
She produces a silver pin. Marian and Eleanor gasp.
ELEANOR I do think you ought to be careful, Joan.
JOAN Careful? Whatever are you talking about, Eleanor? The man’s a friar!
Beat. Then they all burst out laughing. 32: mocking WA WA music Harry Bailey’s entrance with the pilgrims and his raucous call for departure
HOST Off we go, then! Nice leisurely little leg today. Shift yourselves! (Fairly politely, to the Prioress) Come on, madam, the horses are waiting! Six miles to Ospring – we can get in a couple of tales on the way. (Less politely to one of the others) Move! Let’s be having you…
As they leave… 33: TO CANTERBURY – INSTRUMENTAL 5c To represent the next leg of the pilgrimage: an instrumental version of the anthem. As it plays, the pilgrims mime the journey, re-entering to pass across the stage in groups or singly, each person walking or riding in a characteristic fashion. Features of the set change, and villagers come and go, to indicate the departure from Sittingbourne and the passage through various towns and hamlets on the way to Ospring. When all have crossed once, they re-enter and halt on the Host’s imperious cry.
Scene 6: at the Angel, Ospring; still day 5 of the pilgrimage
6a HOST Lunch break!
WIFE OF BATH (discussing Chaucer’s own effort) Well, I thought it was very nice, Mr Chaucer. Such a manly man, that Sir Topaze. I do like a manly man. My fourth and fifth husbands were manly men. (She pauses, lost in an absorbing reverie.)
CHAUCER And?
32 WIFE OF BATH (Back to Earth.) Sorry?
CHAUCER You were about to tell us about your fourth and fifth husbands. Manly men.
WIFE OF BATH (Herself once more) Not bloody likely! But I will tell you a story about a man who was a bit too manly, if you take my meaning.
HOST Ladies and gentlemen, leave now if you wish to, because we are about to be entertained by –
6b WIFE OF BATH The Wife of Bath’s Tale! (Cheers.)
THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE
(cheerily) In days of old When knights were bold Back in King Arthur’s time, One of them laid A fair young maid –
The raunchier pilgrims cheer; but they are stilled by her chilling seriousness - Against her will, the swine!
The pilgrims have set up a scene to represent a hall in Camelot. A young girl, Alison, runs in, in great distress and slumps to the floor. Queen GUINEVERE sits alone, serious and deep in thought. She stirs as a distant fanfare is heard and stands as her husband enters the room.
GUINEVERE What was the sentence?
ARTHUR Guilty. He’s to be executed tomorrow.
She does not reply. Assuming that her silence means that she disapproves, ARTHUR goes on, justifying his judgement.
He used his power as a knight to violate this young woman – you wouldn’t have him go unpunished, Guinevere?
GUINEVERE Of course not.
ARTHUR I know it’s a waste. I feel that as much as you do.
GUINEVERE It’s not that… This is his first crime, isn’t it?
ARTHUR Yes, but that is hardly the point. If we were talking about theft or… or bribery, I could simply strip him of his knighthood and throw him into prison for a while. But this. I have no alternative.
GUINEVERE Alison has an alternative.
ARTHUR What do you mean?
GUINEVERE I have just spoken to her. She came to me – of her own free will; I didn’t send for her.
ARTHUR To plead on his behalf? His victim?
GUINEVERE To ask for a different sentence.
ARTHUR (To Alison) What do you have in mind, my dear?
33 Alison does not reply but bows her head.
GUINEVERE (pauses; this demands very careful thought.) As supreme head of the courts, you have of course every right to do with this young man as you wish. But there is an ancient statute – I don’t think it has been invoked for many years – which permits the Queen and her women to pass judgement on crimes which are enacted against her women, as this surely was.
ARTHUR And you wish to sentence him yourself?
GUINEVERE On Alison’s advice. Yes.
ARTHUR Do you have it in mind to set him free?
GUINEVERE No. Simply to find a different way in which to punish him.
ARTHUR (looks at her, pauses for a moment and then smiles) Re-convene the court. I cannot wait to hear this sentence. 34: FANFARE
GUINEVERE nods to a servant, who exits. We hear the sound of a fanfare. Instantly the stage is full of courtiers (represented by the remaining pilgrims and tavern people), who take their places as though in a court of law, the KNIGHTs on ARTHUR’s side, the ladies on GUINEVERE’s, Alison next to the Queen. A young man then enters from the left between two soldiers, and kneels before the King and Queen, his head bowed. Alison herself enters from the right, and is offered the seat next to GUINEVERE. The Queen and Alison confer briefly and the court falls silent.
GUINEVERE Sir Knight. You have been found guilty and are sentenced to suffer the punishment of death. Following the ancient statutes, however, you are now in my power. Hear your new sentence.
In shock, he looks up. She motions him to stand.
You will leave this court a free man (there is a sense of outrage in the court, but no-one is bold enough to say anything), but will remain free on one condition only: that you return in a year and a day, at which time you will give the answer to a question that I am about to set you. If in the judgement of my women and myself you answer satisfactorily, you will be free for ever. If you cannot answer, or give an answer which does not please us, your head will be struck from your shoulders. Is that clear?
KNIGHT (whispers) Yes, your majesty.
GUINEVERE Do you give your word to return on the day assigned?
KNIGHT I give my word, your majesty.
GUINEVERE Then the question is a simple one, and it is this. What is it that women most desire?
There is a stunned silence, but clearly the court approves of the new sentence. 35: TO CANTERBURY – RECORDERS 1 Then, still noiselessly, GUINEVERE and ARTHUR stand and leave the room, followed by the whole court except the KNIGHT himself. Up to now still in his kneeling position, he collapses on the floor, as though exhausted. As the lights dim, he slowly hauls himself to his feet, straightens his clothes and leaves the court to begin his quest.
After a few seconds of music, the lights come up on a balcony above the stage. ARTHUR is studying a map and GUINEVERE reading a letter.
ARTHUR So he is still somewhere in Wessex.
GUINEVERE Scouring the countryside. Obliged to ask every woman he meets what it is that women most desire. (She smiles.)
ARTHUR (pinning the map of England to the wall) You seem amused.
GUINEVERE I was just thinking of some of the strange responses he must be getting.
34 The lights dim quickly on the balcony and come up on the stage below. The next line of dialogue should follow immediately upon GUINEVERE’s.
The sounds of carts trundling and voices of market people indicate that we are in a busy village somewhere. The KNIGHT, now in travelling clothes and carrying a leather bag, is talking to FIVE women and writing down their responses on a scroll
FIRST WOMAN Chocolate.
KNIGHT Chocolate?
FIRST WOMAN Women most desire chocolate.
SECOND WOMAN Nice clothes for me.
THIRD WOMAN (approaching) Is this a survey?
KNIGHT Not exactly. Sort of research.
THIRD WOMAN You ought to set up a focus group.
KNIGHT A what?
THIRD WOMAN Get loads of women together and put it to the vote.
KNIGHT I somehow don’t think that’s the way I’m supposed to go about it.
FOURTH WOMAN This is a kind of job, then is it? A quest? A mission?
KNIGHT Yes.
FOURTH WOMAN Who are you working for?
KNIGHT Myself, I suppose.
FOURTH WOMAN I mean, who set you the task?
KNIGHT (He pauses before answering.) Queen Guinevere actually.
There is general amazement.
FOURTH WOMAN Why? (Suspiciously.) Something you’d done?
KNIGHT Something I’d done, yes.
The women fall silent and walk away. The lights dim on the stage and come up on the balcony. 36: TO CANTERBURY – RECORDERS 2
Brief music, to suggest the passage of time. ARTHUR and GUINEVERE are still on the balcony, and ARTHUR is drawing the line of the KNIGHT’s route on the map which he pinned to the wall earlier. He has reached the Midlands.
ARTHUR Mercia.
GUINEVERE He’s certainly covering some ground.
ARTHUR How long has he been away now?
GUINEVERE It’s the end of March.
35 ARTHUR So: nearly four months.
GUINEVERE And what is he learning, I wonder?
37: TO CANTERBURY – RECORDERS 3 Brief music, as lights dim on the balcony and come up on the stage.
The KNIGHT is sitting disconsolately on the ground, trying to make sense of the information that he has acquired. He has plainly written every response down on his scroll, which now stretches half way across the stage.
KNIGHT This is impossible! There have hardly been any two women who have given me the same answer. What do women most desire? Well, according to the women of the Wessex, Mercia and Northumbria… (he reads a few sample responses, rolling up the scroll as he goes through the list): women most desire… wealth, high society, eternal beauty… (his voice drops in embarrassment:) a good seeing to… (he reads on quickly) cheap wine… amazing how many want ‘to be happy and travel and work with animals’… Some like to be flattered… (he reads one, word for word:) ‘Women most desire to be trusted’… hmmm, fair enough… (scanning the final yard of the scroll) and a significant proportion refuse to answer on the grounds that it’s gender stereotyping…
38: THUNDERCLAP AND RAIN There is a clap of thunder and we hear the sound of rain falling.
That’s all I need.
He pulls his cloak around him, picks up the bag and hoists it onto his shoulder.
Ah well, on to York, I suppose… 39: LOUDER THUNDERCLAP AND MORE RAIN Slowly and dispiritedly he leaves the stage as another, louder clap of thunder fills the air, the lights dim and the rain can be heard falling in torrents. 40: TO CANTERBURY – RECORDERS 4 The following dumb-show is accompanied by music. On the balcony, ARTHUR and GUINEVERE enter; GUINEVERE reads from a letter (presumably a report on the KNIGHT’s travels) and ARTHUR marks the route on the map pinned to the wall. Cross-fade to the stage, where the KNIGHT is questioning more women and writing down their responses on his ever- lengthening scroll. For a short while women enter, talk to the KNIGHT and depart. Then cross-fade back to the balcony, where GUINEVERE is marking in the KNIGHT’s continuing travels. Cross-fade back to the stage to see more of the KNIGHT’s interviewing…
This repeated cross-fading should not go on so long as to bore the audience, but should be enough to represent the KNIGHT’s travels and the passage of time. By the end of the sequence, the line on the map should have zig-zagged all over England and be returning to the West country.
As the women disperse for the last time, the KNIGHT drops his scroll in despair. [music ends]
Oh, I don’t know. The answer could be any of these – how am I to know? Perhaps there isn’t an answer at all. Perhaps this is just some trick to punish me. (His nerve is beginning to fail him.) Perhaps if I were to head off back to Scotland and hide myself in the hills…
Almost convinced that this is the only sensible plan, he is backing off stage, left, and has not seen an OLD WOMAN behind him. She is toothless, dressed in rags and bent over with age.
OLD WOMAN That’s not the way, young man.
KNIGHT What?
OLD WOMAN That’s not the way.
36 KNIGHT (suffering from stress, he has become extremely short-tempered) But you don’t know where I want to go, old woman.
OLD WOMAN You want the answer to a question.
KNIGHT (Surprised; then he realises that she must have been around earlier) Oh, you’ve been listening, have you?
OLD WOMAN I know the answer. Any fool could tell you the answer. You even know it yourself, if only you’d think.
KNIGHT (He feels that he ought to scoff, but there is something about her that prevents him.) Are you a witch?
She doesn’t answer.
OLD WOMAN In seven days you must stand before Guinevere’s court and tell her what it is that women most desire. If you cannot tell, or give an answer which does not satisfy, your head will be separated from your body. (He is now in her power and simply stands staring at her.) I will be there by your side. I will whisper the answer in your ear and you will be free. The only reward I ask is that you will do the next thing I require of you. Is it a bargain between us?
He nods dumbly. She smiles and hobbles off as the lights dim on the motionless and bewildered KNIGHT.
A fanfare signals that we are once again in King ARTHUR’s court. As before, the courtiers take their places, with ARTHUR and GUINEVERE entering after them, the Queen accompanied by Alison. The KNIGHT enters last and stands before GUINEVERE. He is shaking and sweating with fear: the OLD WOMAN is nowhere to be seen.
GUINEVERE Sir Knight, it is a year and a day since you departed from this court on a quest to find the answer to the question ‘What is it that women most desire?’ Are you ready to give your answer?
He anxiously looks around for the OLD WOMAN, but to no avail. Turning to the Queen, he prepares to offer the best answer that he can think of from the many hundreds that have been offered to him.
KNIGHT Your majesty, women most desire… they most desire…
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens them, the OLD WOMAN is standing next to him. She whispers in his ear and he delivers his answer:
Women most desire… to have power.
There is a tense silence: has he given the right answer?
GUINEVERE Go on.
KNIGHT They desire not to have to follow men’s wishes all the time…
GUINEVERE And?
KNIGHT [This is difficult for him] And not to have men forcing them to do things against their will…
Silence. Then GUINEVERE stands and the rest of the court rise with her.
GUINEVERE Good. Remember that.
Silently and seriously, GUINEVERE, ARTHUR and the court disperse. The KNIGHT collapses in relief and exhaustion. Then he drags himself to his feet and is about to leave the court when he is stopped by the voice of the OLD WOMAN.
OLD WOMAN Haven’t you forgotten something?
KNIGHT Oh. Sorry.
He reaches into his pocket and offers her a bag of gold.
37 OLD WOMAN Something else.
KNIGHT (He thinks and then realises:) Oh… Thank you. You saved my life: thank you.
OLD WOMAN We had a bargain.
KNIGHT Did we?
OLD WOMAN You are to do the next thing I require of you.
KNIGHT Oh. I’d forgotten. Well? What can I do for you? What do you want?
OLD WOMAN I want you to marry me.
He roars with laughter. In his relief at escaping with his life, he is a little hysterical.
KNIGHT Very good, old woman, very good. But seriously, though. You must have some reward: what do you want?
OLD WOMAN I’ve told you. I want you as my husband.
GUINEVERE (who has re-entered silently) And if it was a bargain, it has to be kept… Wouldn’t you say?
As he turns to look at GUINEVERE and then back at the OLD WOMAN, his expression shows his sudden realisation that this is all horribly real… 41: CAMELOT BRIEF MUSIC – something from ‘CAMELOT’ Women run forward and gigglingly drag him to the bedroom.
The KNIGHT and the OLD WOMAN are in a section of the staging structure curtained off to represent an enormous double bed. She is wearing nothing but a rather nasty-looking nightdress, while he is fully clothed; she is smiling seductively at him in her toothless way: he is staring straight ahead, eyes bulging in sheer revulsion.
OLD WOMAN (leaning over to his side of the bed) Well, come on then. This is our wedding night, after all. (She snuggles up more closely.) I thought you knights of the Round Table had a reputation as great lovers. (She moves even closer.) What’s made you so coy?
Unable to stand any more, he leaps out of the bed, draws his sword and points it at her.
KNIGHT Don’t come any closer – I’m warning you!
OLD WOMAN What have I done? (Smiling winningly – in other words, flashing her gums at him.) You don’t have to be shy of me. I’m your little wife!
KNIGHT Oh no you’re not!
OLD WOMAN Yes I am: we were married this morning, don’t you remember? And the Queen made a public declaration that, if you weren’t a [with emphasis] proper husband to me… If you didn’t fulfil all the duties expected of a husband… She would carry out the death sentence hanging over you.
KNIGHT (Groaning in despair) I know, I know.
OLD WOMAN So what’s your problem? You can tell me.
KNIGHT Problem? (Shouting hysterically.) Problem! I’ll tell you what my problem is, since you ask. My problem is that you are old; my problem is that you are ugly; and to make matters worse, you are seriously working-class!
OLD WOMAN Ah, so that’s all.
38 KNIGHT All?
He groans and sits on the floor. She watches him for a moment, smiling to herself.
OLD WOMAN [Her voice changes: she is no longer the cackling hag.] Let’s just think for a moment about what you’ve just said. You complain that I am old. But surely you have been taught to respect age? The old are wise and experienced, not subject to wild flights of fancy or irresponsibility. We have endured much. You say I’m ugly. So much the better: you won’t have to worry that all the handsome young men of the neighbourhood will be dropping in to see me while you’re away on quests or righting wrongs in distant parts of the kingdom. And as for being low-born… I had always been brought up to believe that true nobility wasn’t something that you could inherit in a will, like a grand title or rich estates. (He looks up: she has touched a nerve.) True nobility is all about the way we behave to other people; it’s about sympathy and compassion, generosity and open-heartedness, tolerance and understanding… Respect for the feelings of others… (He hangs his head in shame.) Am I making sense..?
KNIGHT Yes, you are. Great sense.
He stands, turns to her and bows.
I beg you to forgive me for my insulting words. I am sincerely sorry for the way I have behaved to you.
She looks at him steadily.
OLD WOMAN Yes, I believe you are. Come and sit by me.
He sits on the edge of the bed and looks at her.
I could make everything better, you know: I could solve all your problems.
KNIGHT I don’t understand.
OLD WOMAN I am going to offer you a choice.
KNIGHT A choice?
OLD WOMAN Yes, and it is this. Either you can have a wife who is young and beautiful – but take your chance about what might happen with all the good-looking young men who will call in while you’re away… Or have me as I am: old and ugly – but devoted to you and ever faithful…
She pauses to let the implications of the alternatives sink in.
Now, which is it to be? Choose. But I warn you that you will have to live with your choice until the day you die.
He stands up in a confused daze. Then he paces around the room. At one point he seems to come to a decision:
KNIGHT I want you to be –
And then instantly changes his mind:
No. What I want is -
But that choice is even more disturbing. Staring around the room for inspiration, he meets her gaze, and in that instant he seems to see things clearly for the first time… When he speaks, it is slowly and with great conviction:
Dear wife, you choose for us both. I will accept whatever you think is right.
OLD WOMAN You put yourself in my power?
KNIGHT Totally. 42: MASSIVE PEAL OF THUNDER 39 As he utters the word, there is a lightning flash, a massive peal of thunder and a momentary blackout. In bed sits a beautiful YOUNG WOMAN.
YOUNG WOMAN Then kiss me, husband, for I will give you the best of both worlds: I will be both young and faithful. (He tries to speak.) Ask nothing. Little by little you will understand… In fact, unless I am mistaken, you have begun to understand already.
The lights dim as they embrace and the Wife of Bath sings – 43: SONG: EXPERIENCE - REPRISE
WIFE OF BATH What an experience! My last two husbands were wonderful men! Such an experience! O please, sweet Jesus… Let me have it again!
6c CHAUCER Well, that’s one recipe for a successful marriage, I suppose: let your wife make the decisions and all will be well.
FRANKLIN Yes. I suppose, if you like that sort of arrangement… er….that’s the sort of arrangement you’ll like.
CHAUCER And what would be your recommendation, Franklin?
FRANKLIN What? For a successful marriage? God knows.
CHAUCER Got any children?
FRANKLIN Yes, one… (Pause; subdued) Bit of a disappointment to be honest. Bad company - you know the kind of thing. Never see him with anybody you might call – for want of a better word – a gentleman.
HOST (who has been listening in) Gentleman? What the hell’s that got to do with anything? This is 1385, Franklin. We can’t go on living in the past for ever, you know. I mean jousting’s all very nice, and writing poetry and playing the flute; but it’s not going to pay the rent in the real world, is it?
FRANKLIN (Gently) No, I suppose not. But that wasn’t what I really meant by ‘gentleman’. (To Chaucer) My mind was still on our discussion about marriage. I think a good parent or good son is a bit like a good husband or wife. It’s largely a question of compromises and understanding.
HOST I still fail to see what that’s got to do with being a ‘gentleman’.
The Franklin pauses, breathes deeply, and begins his tale.
THE FRANKLIN’S TALE
6d FRANKLIN ‘The Franklin’s Tale’. There was once, in a distant place, at a distant time, a husband and wife. Their story begins with a leave-taking…
44: SONG: PALE HANDS I LOVED MUSIC: ‘PALE HANDS I LOVED’ Piano and solo voice; see – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_lAeXKpatY&feature=related
During the song, the characters enter and form a tableau, much in the manner of a formally posed Victorian photograph. The four main characters will, in fact, remain on stage throughout, moving in and out of pairs in the manner of chess pieces.
Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar Where are you now, Who lies beneath your spell? Whom do you lead on rapture’s roadway far?
40 Before you agonise them in farewell, Before you agonise them in farewell,
Pale hands I loved beside the Shalimar Where are you now, Where are you now?
The scene is India at the height of the Raj. Sounds of a barrack-square outside. Gus, an officer, is buckling on the last item of his uniform, assisted by his young wife, Dorothea. For a moment they stand looking at each other. A soldier enters.
SOLDIER Captain Osborne says we’re ready for the off, sir.
GUS Thank you, Corporal.
There is a brief silence after the corporal leaves.
I’ll drop you a line as soon as we reach Chini.
DORRIE Yes.
GUS You’ll be amazed how quickly the time will pass.
DORRIE Oh, I’m sure it will. Tiffin with Mildred and endless evenings of bridge with the Brigadier’s wife.
GUS Yes. Looked at in that way, where I’m going does seem less grim! They manage a laugh. I must go. 45: BRITISH GRENADIER BAND MARCH They kiss and he leaves quickly. We hear the band strike up and a series of barked orders, then marching. She runs up to the balcony and waves.
As the brass-band music fades, the watching pilgrims part to reveal a whist party in progress.
BRIGADIER’S WIFE Where’s Dorothea? You did invite her, didn’t you, Mildred?
MILDRED She might not come. I think she’s still missing her husband rather. She worries a great deal, you know, and I have the feeling she finds company rather trying.
BRIGADIER’S WIFE Well, we can only do our best. And she has to learn that being an army wife means separations – it’s one of the sacrifices we have to make.
MRS JOPLIN Frankly, I’ve always enjoyed it. Now that Bernard’s been promoted, he’s a confounded nuisance. Under my feet all the time: interfering with servants…
BRIGADIER’S WIFE Yes, I know what you mean. I think it does a husband and wife good to be apart for a while – makes the heart grow fonder, and all that sort of thing. And certainly in Dorothea’s case she has very little to be anxious about. According to Charles, Gus did an excellent job with that rebellion on the islands. His present duties can’t be much more than the odd bit of administration. He certainly isn’t in any danger from the natives any more.
MILDRED No, I think she recognises that. She’s more concerned about the voyage home.
BRIGADIER’S WIFE Ah, yes.
MILDRED The loss of the ‘Charlotte’ last month made her infinitely more tense than the casualties in the rebellion ever did. I suppose she knew that at least Gus had some control over that. There’s not a lot you can do when your ship’s being hurled against the Kotegarh rocks.
MRS JOPLIN And they’ve barely started work on the lighthouse. In low water those rocks are a death-trap. Mildred, you must remember –
She has failed to notice Dorothea’s entrance and the Brigadier’s wife has to cover the awkwardness.
41 BRIGADIER’S WIFE (Getting up quickly to cover the awkwardness) Dorothea! We were just talking about you, weren’t we, Mildred? Let’s go and find a drink, and you can tell me all the exciting news about Gus’s return. It must be soon… (Relieved) Ah, here’s Peter. Peter, I have a young lady in distress who is absolutely dying for a drink. I’m sure you won’t mind escorting her. Oh, I do believe it’s clouding over…
DORRIE Oh, no, really – I –
But the Brigadier’s wife has returned to the bridge table. For a moment they stand awkwardly.
PETER Well, would you like a drink? Or are we going to stand here like statues for the rest of the evening?
DORRIE I asked you not to talk to me again.
PETER I can hardly avoid it when I’m forced upon you by my aunt. Very forceful woman, Aunt Agnes.
DORRIE Look, just leave me alone, will you? I don’t want a scene in public.
PETER So what do you want?
DORRIE I’ll tell you what I want. I want you to stop pestering me. I want my husband to finish in the islands. I want him home again safe and sound. I want someone to get rid of the infernal Kotegarh rocks! But, we can’t all have what we want, can we, Peter?
PETER I’d do anything for you, Dorrie.
DORRIE Don’t call me Dorrie.
PETER Anything.
Pause.
DORRIE All right. Do one thing for me and I’m yours. You have my solemn oath.
PETER Name it.
DORRIE Get rid of the Kotegarh rocks.
PETER I see. There being no dragons left alive to slay, my task is the Kotegarh rocks.
DORRIE You could look at it in that way, yes. The difference is that knights of old had a chance to kill their dragon: yours is an impossibility! 46: SITAR – BACKGROUND MUSIC
She turns and goes. We hear the sound of the sitar, which continues over the dialogue. Peter has not moved, but now an Indian fakir stands before him.
FAKIR The Kotegarh rocks?
PETER Yes.
FAKIR Very difficult.
PETER Impossible.
FAKIR No. Very difficult. And very expensive. Come.
In the sequence which follows the fakir completes a sequence of magic rituals. The sitar music suddenly ends and there is a brief silence. Then, almost imperceptibly at first but growing louder, the sound of rain.
42 47: RAIN – VERY QUIETLY AT FIRST PETER What’s that?
FAKIR You can not have lived in India long if you have forgotten the sound of the monsoon. This year it will be heavy. The waters will rise. The Kotegarh rocks will disappear. Take your lady to the shore. She will see no rocks. And she will not understand. Take her. And when you have had her, bring me my ten thousand rupees.
PETER You’ll get your money. 48: SITAR – BRIEF PHRASE 1 Brief snatch of sitar music. The lights fade to leave Peter in a single spot. When they come up again, the fakir has gone and Dorrie stands next to Peter.
Yes. The rocks are gone.
DORRIE But how on earth?
PETER You don’t need to know. That wasn’t part of our bargain. Is your husband’s ship in yet?
DORRIE Yes. They’re disembarking. My God, what a homecoming!
PETER I’ll leave you then. Tonight is the homecoming ball. Come to my quarters at ten tomorrow.
DORRIE Oh, Peter!
PETER Or I shall spread this whole business around the entire station. Tomorrow. One night with me. You gave your word! 49: SITAR – BRIEF PHRASE 2 He goes. Music and lights down to a spot, as before. When they fade up, Gus is standing next to her.
GUS You gave your word?
DORRIE It was a game. A stupid challenge to frighten him off. I never thought it might be possible.
GUS So you have to break your word – in which case he will create a scandal, or go to him.
DORRIE Or kill myself.
GUS Dorrie!
DORRIE It’s the only honourable way out, Gus. What’s the only decent thing to do when a fellow’s accused of cowardice or dishonouring the regiment in some way? He goes quietly into his study, he locks the door, takes his revolver out of its holster –
GUS No, Dorrie!
DORRIE There’s nothing left, Gus. I’m dishonoured whatever I do. You said it yourself. Either I break my word, or my marriage vows to you.
GUS [Pause; then, determined] So it’s clear, then. 50: SITAR – BRIEF PHRASE 3 MUSIC Lights fade to a spot on her. When they come up, she is with Peter.
PETER What are you doing here?
DORRIE What do you mean – what am I doing here? I’ve come. I have kept my word. He sent me.
PETER You told him?
DORRIE Of course I told him. He’s my husband.
43 PETER And he let you come?
DORRIE (She pauses, thinking it out.) Gus has never been a great thinker. But he does pride himself in doing his job to the best of his ability. And he does follow a no doubt old-fashioned but extremely clear-cut code of conduct, which boils down, I suppose, to being ‘decent’ to people. (Putting the following expressions, as it were, in inverted commas:) Not taking advantage of them when the chips are down. Keeping your word. Playing the game.
PETER Tell me one thing. When we first met – before all this started – you did have some respect for me, didn’t you?
DORRIE I did, yes. Ironically, I saw many of Gus’s qualities in you. At least, I thought I did.
PETER I want to try to show you that you weren’t mistaken… regain a little self-respect. (Pause.) Go back to your husband. Say that I have released you. Tell him that, at least in the end, I have tried to behave like a gentleman. 51: SITAR – BRIEF PHRASE 4 MUSIC and lights down to a spot as before. Lights up to show Peter with the fakir.
You’re going to have to wait for your ten thousand rupees, I’m afraid. You’ll get your money, but I’m going to have to sell a few things first. I simply haven’t got that amount of cash.
FAKIR Nor the lady, it seems.
PETER How the hell did you know that? If you’ve been spying on me –
FAKIR I don’t need to spy to know that she confided in her husband; that her husband sent her to you; and that you, in an attempt to match their magnanimity, sent her back again. It was perhaps your attempt to behave as a true officer and gentleman?
PETER How dare you sneer at me! But I suppose I wouldn’t expect your type to understand.
FAKIR I do not sneer. And I understand perfectly – perhaps rather better than you, my friend. I understand that, to be a gentleman in the true sense, one does not have to be a British officer. Or – dare I say it – even British. And, had you been a gentleman, you would not have referred insultingly to ‘my type’.
PETER I’m sorry.
FAKIR I believe you. But now, how does a humble Indian respond in such a situation? Does he insist upon his bond? Or does he too enter the contest to see who can behave in the most gentlemanly fashion? (Brief dramatic pause) Keep your rupees. Forget your debt. Only remember to be – how strange our English language is – a ‘gentleman’. Whatever that extraordinary word means. 52: PALE HANDS – PIANO ONLY (CONCLUDING THE TALE)
6e PRIORESS So beautiful, Franklin. So… (longingly) romantic.
FRANKLIN Ah, romantic, yes. We all need a little romance, don’t you think?
Their look of mutual understanding is interrupted by the Nun.
NUN (Hesitantly) My lady Prioress. I hope you don’t mind my asking, but –
PRIORESS My necklace? Go on: read it.
NUN (Reads) Amor Vincit Omnia.
PRIORESS ‘Love Conquers All’.
NUN Yes, the love of Our Lord is so ardent, so encompassing.
44 PRIORESS Ardent. Encompassing… Yes…
45 53: SONG: LOVE CONQUERS ALL
SONG: LOVE CONQUERS ALL
Love is soft and love is sweet and speaks in accents fair; Love is mighty agony and love is mighty care; Love is purest ecstasy and love is keen to dare; Love is wretched misery; depression and despair.
Love’s a stern and valiant knight, strong astride a steed; Love’s a thing that pleasures every longing woman’s need; Love will keep its pureness like a glowing amber bead; Love chains us all in fetters strong, never to be freed.
But ‘Amore vincit omnia’: love conquers all, they say; And love may yet walk in my life to conquer me one day.
If love had strength for suffering as first it has when keen, Then love would be the finest thing the world has ever seen; But this is what they sing about, and so it’s ever been: Love begins in mighty pain and ends in grief and spleen.
But ‘Amore vincit omnia’: love conquers all, they say; And love may yet walk in my life to conquer me one day.
FRANKLIN (Meaningfully) Yes. We all need a little romance. And, of course, a great deal of give and take. You see, the way I view it, the husband, the wife, the lover, the magician – they were all ‘gentlemanly’ in the end – as I understand the term, anyway. Though these days we probably need to find a different word for it. But let me leave you with this question: who was the most generous, in your opinion? The Knight, the Wife, the Lover or the Magician?
An animated discussion breaks out among the pilgrims, which is interrupted by the arrival of the Pardoner, surrounded by a small crowd of the more credulous pilgrims and local villagers. One of them carries a small table which will become the Pardoner’s stall.
Scene 7: day 5 – early on the final day of the journey to Canterbury; the King’s Head, Boughton. 54: HUBBUB MUSIC: (CAN’T BUY ME LOVE?) ?? 7a During the hubbub, there has been MUSIC and a sign now shows that we are outside The Angel, Boughton.
Enter the PARDONER, accompanied by MOLLY who carries a tray of relics.
PARDONER. In nomine patris et filii, sub judice, persona non grata. Amen. And that’ll be half a noble, thank you very much. (Ting!) Next! Coitus interruptus, habeas corpus, in flagrante delicto… Indulgences! Hot from the Holy father! Be absolved of your sins through a share of the heavenly treasury of the mercy of God, plus a small financial investment. All takings go straight into the meagre coffers of the mother Church to succour the poor and needy. And remember, for a clean soul, friends: Purchased Penitence Washes Whitest!
As someone buys a pardon, and the pardoner adds a few more words of Latin, the Doctor and the Friar observe his methods.
Thank you, my child. (He blesses her.) Jesus Cristus, pièce de résistance, curriculum vitæ– have a nice day – (Ting!) Et bona fide, non compos mentis, capuccino ad infinitum… (chanting) Quid pro quo! But this being a very special sin, my daughter, we need a special absolution.
GULLIBLE VILLAGER A special - ?
PARDONER For the most insignificant of contributions –
46 GULLIBLE VILLAGER I haven’t got much –
PARDONER A mere three groats – you may touch one of my holy relics!
FRIAR Oh, no! Not the relics!
As they eagerly crowd round –
PARDONER No, please – do not approach too closely. These relics have been preserved through the centuries, finally coming to rest, by God’s grace, in the Chapel of the Blessed Mary of Roncevalle at Charing. They are of inestimable worth and incalculable power. This (producing a pink plastic toy bone) is the shoulder-bone of Jacob! Dip this in the water of any well, and the sheep and cattle will thrive and multiply. For what said Jacob? ‘I will pass through all thy flock today, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted cattle and all the brown cattle among the sheep and the speckled and the spotted among the goats; such (as he replaces the bone carefully and dramatically on the table) shall be my hire.’ (Selecting a piece of cloth) And what is this?
FRIAR A pillow-case!
PARDONER Yes, sinners, this is no less than Our Lady’s veil! (General gasp! Selecting another piece) And this… a tiny fragment from the sail of Saint Peter’s boat. What a state of preservation! They don’t make them like they used to! This… (an obviously plastic washing-up bowl) the very washing-up bowl used at the Last Supper… (Gaudy party feather) And what about one of the Angel Gabriel’s wing-feathers? And… (dramatically producing two fig-leaves) I need hardly tell you who wore these! They are, of course, in the higher price-range, but I have assorted saints’ bones to suit the more modest pocket.
He produces a jar full of bones and tips them on to the table.
Take your pick, my friends! Empty your purse and save your soul!
He confidently leaves the stall and approaches the Friar, Doctor and Summoner.
FRIAR Another good day’s takings? (The Pardoner simply chuckles.)
SUMMONER You can’t complain. You don’t see too many poor friars, do you Hubert? Your lady friends aren’t short of a penny or two.
DOCTOR And from what you told me earlier, Summoner –
SUMMONER Now, wait a minute –
DOCTOR Collecting fines and splitting them fifty-fifty with the archdeacon -
SUMMONER That was in confidence to my doctor! Remember your Hypocritical Oath!
DOCTOR I’ll keep your secrets.
HOST We’d do well to keep each other’s secrets, gentlemen. When all’s said and done, the whole world’s on the fiddle!
55: SONG: ON THE FIDDLE
SONG: ON THE FIDDLE Sung by the Host, Summoner, Pardoner and Friar
ALL We’re on the – fiddle, on the make, gotta take some money, Cos we’ve all been poor and it sure ain’t funny; Be a diddler, chis’ller, conman’s mate, In a bent world, brother, why bother to be straight?
HOST I’ve been a – Twister, mister, what about that? 47 If I ever turn honest, I’ll eat my hat, I’m a twice-dyed shyster, blimey what a rat! If you want to make a living like me - Get on the - fiddle, on the make, gotta take some money…
SUMMONER Oh, you can – Slip me a fiver, grease my palm, A little bit of bribery does no harm, I’ll listen to the sermon, sing to the psalm Get down on my knees and then – Get on the - fiddle, on the make, gotta take some money…
FRIAR Oh in a - Habit like mine you can’t go wrong, The village ladies sing my song; I give them ab-so-lu-ti-on, And they’re tickled to know that I – Am on the – fiddle, on the make, gotta take some money…
PARDONER Oh, sinners – Lordy, what a hypocrite, mercy what a sham! What a charlatan, humbug, darling what a ham! I’m a forging, faking pardoner, I am, With a sack full of rubbish to prove – I’m on the - fiddle, on the make, gotta take some money…
They exit, singing, followed by the rest of the cast. The music continues to cover the final scene-change which incorporates a sign-post indicating ‘Canterbury 1 mile’.
7b As the music ends, we hear in the distance the awful discord of the Miller’s bagpipes. The pilgrims enter on the final leg of their journey, with the miller bringing up the rear. They are exhausted and some remove their shoes to rub sore and blistered feet.
HOST Oh, give it a break, Robin!
MILLER Feller’s gotta practise.
LAWYER I think I prefer him drunk.
MILLER That’s a thought. Gotta mouth as dry as a reeve’s wallet –
REEVE He’s doing it again!
NUN’S PRIEST Calm down, Oswald. You had your turn earlier. You got your retaliation in first, remember?
HOST Did he ever finish that joke about the carpenter?
COOK He hasn’t stayed sober long enough to remember the ending yet.
HOST So what about it, Robin?
LAWYER Yes, I think this counts as ‘after prime time’.
MILLER What about what?
48 HOST The Miller’s Tale.
Though the Prioress and some of the quieter pilgrims ostentatiously leave, most of them call out for ‘the Miller’s Tale’ and he swells with pride and enthusiasm.
MILLER The Miller’s Tale. Right. Well, as I’ve been trying to tell you, there’s this old carpenter, see. (Half-hearted complaints from the Reeve are easily quelled.) And ’e goes an’ marries this really gorgeous little young piece, right? And they set up home in a nice little flat above his workshop…
COOK Roses round the door…
MILLER Right – all alone except for a lodger – (obvious reactions from the rowdier pilgrims) – Yeh, bit of an artist ’e was, and ’e ’ad ’is eye on the carpenter’s young wife from the moment ’e set foot in the ’ouse…
THE MILLER’S TALE 56: JEALOUSY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuSsde7gRsI&feature=related
7c Stereotypically French café music (including saxophone and percussion?) with an accordion or concertina, played by CHAUCER (as ABSALON).
Nicolas sits sketching Alice as she provocatively tidies the dinner table. When the music develops into something like a tango, he grabs her and they perform a violent apache dance, during which Alice’s head is banged on the table more than once. The music ends. They reluctantly draw part. As she straightens her clothes (tight skirt and top; cheeky beret), and Nicolas goes back to his sketching, enter the older husband, Jean-Pierre. When they speak, their accents are exaggeratedly French (think Inspector Clouseau). To maintain the comic-book style, their gestures are melodramatic and extreme, and most of the props they use are two-dimensional flats.
JEAN-PIERRE (suspiciously eyeing the plate) ’Allo. ’Ow come ma saucisse is squashed again?
ALICE Jean-Pierre! All you ever think about is your saucisse!
JEAN-PIERRE (he snatches up his sausage and brandishes it defiantly) A man ’as to ’ave an interest!
Suddenly his eye is caught by something in the newspaper. He flourishes it triumphantly.
Regarde! “Sagittarius: You may feel a little flattened today.” Hein? ’Oo say ze ’oroscopes lie, hein?
And he storms out. Nicolas rushes to Alice and embraces her from behind.
NICOLAS Alice!
ALICE Nicolas!
NICOLAS Alice!
ALICE Nicolas!
NICOLAS Je t’adore!
ALICE (Slightly baffled) Shut it yourself.
NICOLAS (Brief pause) Mais, non. I love you.
ALICE Oh, Nicolas!
NICOLAS Oh, Alice!
ALICE (dramatically flinging herself from him and taking up a decorative pose elsewhere.) It is impossible: ’e is always ’ere. 49 NICOLAS (thinks) Alice?
ALICE Nicolas.
NICOLAS I ’ave a ruse.
ALICE (Thrown by the impenetrable accent) A what?
NICOLAS A ruse. A déception. We will trick ’im.
ALICE But ’ow?
NICOLAS Zis – ’ow you say? – astrology. ’E believe, yes?
ALICE Mais, d’accord. You ’ave seen ’im.
NICOLAS Bien. I ascend to my room. Bring me some food and wine. I may ’ave to remain zere a couple of days.
His enigmatic exit and Alice’s puzzlement are exaggeratedly acted out and enhanced by some dramatic bursts on the accordion. During which, lights down and up again to reveal Jean-Pierre. He is eating, drinking wine and talking all at the same time.
JEAN-PIERRE Where is Nicolas?
ALICE I do not know. I ’ave not seen ’im since two days.
JEAN-PIERRE (Pause as his mental cogs turn and he comes to a decision) I go to ’ave a look.
They climb to Nicolas’s room and pull back the curtain to reveal Nicolas, sitting in some kind of trance, surrounded by astrological charts, globes, telescopes and calculations on paper.
Sacré bleu! Zut alors! Camembert!
ALICE Ah! Il est mort!
JEAN-PIERRE (listening to his chest) Non! ’E breathes!
NICOLAS (‘Waking’, as Alice pats his hand solicitously) Ah! All is lost!
JEAN-PIERRE What is it that you mean - lost?
NICOLAS Tout est perdu! Ze world is coming to an end! It is written in ze stars!
JEAN-PIERRE In ze stars? ’Ow? When?
NICOLAS A great flood. Un déluge! Thursday soir. It will cover ze ’ole world! (As though suddenly seeing a way out) Unless –
JEAN-PIERRE Unless? Unless quoi?
NICOLAS Noah! ’E escape ze flood. (A further ‘sudden realisation’) You are a carpenter! I tell you what to do. We will be saved!
MILLER So ’e tells this carpenter to string up three wooden tubs from the rafters – one for ’imself, and one each for the lodger and the young wife – (as the Miller describes all this, we see it happening) – and then fill ’em up with provisions. Anyway, Thursday night comes, and there’s the carpenter, sitting in ’is tub, waiting for Noah’s flood to come again; and there’s Alice and Nicolas waiting for ’im to doze off… Which very soon ’e does… And as soon as ’e’s fast asleep (the carpenter snores obligingly), they creep out of their tubs…
50 57: SPLENDID COCK PRELUDE... MUSIC The accordion indicates the entrance of a new character: Absalon. This is also the cue for the other pilgrims to leave, as surreptitiously as possible.
Ah, what I haven’t told you yet is that Nicolas isn’t the only bloke with designs on the carpenter’s wife. Down the road lives Absalon, a young vicar, and ’e’s been eyeing her up for months. Finally ’e’s plucked up the courage – he’s even got her a present. But some people have a knack of picking the wrong moment…
Absalon has entered, a young padré. He carries a rooster in a cage, decorated with ribbons – a present for Alice – and sings (very badly) to the accompaniment of the accordion…
58: SONG: I HAVE A SPLENDID COCK
ABSALON I have a splendid cock, He crows at break of day, He makes me rise up early My prayers for to say.
I have a splendid cock, Of worthy pedigree His comb is rich red coral His tail ebony.
He pauses between verses and fetches a ladder and places it against the wall beneath Alice’s window, as a trio of girl villagers, accompanied by the band, sing, in a lilting chorus, ‘He has a noble cock…’ etc.
I have a splendid cock, His legs are powder blue His spurs are sparkling silver His wings of every hue.
I have a splendid cock, With crystal eyes in amber And every evening he perches In my lady’s chamber.
From above…
NICOLAS (to Alice) ’Oo is it?
ALICE (Looking out the window) Ah, it is Absalon. Always ’e pester me! Attend! I ’ave an idea!
She draws the curtains across her window, so that we can no longer see her. Meanwhile Absalon climbs the ladder.
ABSALON (Calling through her window) Alice! I love you! Give me a kiss, my little cabbage, and make me a ’appy man!
The curtains are pulled apart to reveal a (fake) rump. He kisses it loudly and long. Pauses. Thinks. Touches the rump. And nearly falls off his ladder in horror.
I have kissed a bim! (Hearing their laughter as the bum is swiftly withdrawn behind the curtain, Absalon grinds his teeth in fury.) I must ’ave revenge! Honeur must be satisfied! 59: JEALOUSY REPRISE He exits to saxophone (playing ‘Jealousy’) and returns, as the Miller fills in the story…
MILLER So Absalon belts off to ’is mate, Gervase the blacksmith, borrows the ’ottest branding iron ’e can lay hands on, and makes his way straight back…
51 ABSALON (Having once again climbed the ladder) Alice! C’est moi! I ’ave a little present for you. Come to me again, my little clove of garlic!
Nicolas looks out of another window and whispers to Alice:
NICOLAS Mais non! Ziz time eet is mah turn!
The curtains whip open to reveal another (also fake) rump, spottier and hairier than the first. As Absalon approaches, he checks on its exact whereabouts:
ABSALON Speak to me, my little sparrow. 60: TERRIFIC FART VERSION OF LA MARSEILLAISE The bum lets rip a terrific fart to the tune of La Marseillaise – and its cheeks vibrate in time to it. Absalon thrusts home with the iron and -
MILLER Young Nick yelled out in hell-fire pains:
NICOLAS Fetch water from the lake!
MILLER When he stuck his cheeks in the cooling bath They sizzled like a steak! Then –
JEAN-PIERRE Water?
MILLER - cried the Carpenter -
JEAN-PIERRE Saint Joe! It’s Noah’s Flood!
MILLER So he cut the ropes that held him up, Crash-landing in the mud.
The characters act out the Miller’s narrative: Nicolas screams, Jean-Pierre cuts the rope supporting his tub and plummets to the ground. As Alice draws the curtains to reveal Nicolas sitting in a chamber pot with steam rising round his bare haunches, music brings the tale to an end and accompanies the Miller’s brief epilogue… 61: MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT TO THE FOLLOWING: MILLER So Nick and Alice got their oats, The carpenter was thwarted. And Absalon has kissed her bum – The perfect ending! Sorted!
62: MONKS CHANTING 7d As the Miller’s Tale music dies, we hear (recorded) monks chanting inside the Cathedral and the atmosphere changes. The effect should be that we are outside the cathedral, listening in.
The characters from the Miller’s Tale remove their French costumes and turn to watch the entrance of the pilgrims through the auditorium. Even the Miller becomes serious. They enter and stand facing upstage where a gobo creates the shape of the cathedral’s west window on the back wall.
The monks’ chanting ends and there is a momentary silence.
63: TO CANTERBURY – LATIN VERSION, SOLO VOICE, UNDERNEATH CHAUCER’S SPEECH A solo voice sings a version of ‘To Canterbury’ but with Latin lyrics –
Adeste Cantuariam, Compostellam, Ierusalem; Peragrate civitam, Memorate fabulam
- repeated as necessary, as Chaucer enters the cathedral and reads:
52 CHAUCER Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour…
And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open ye (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages), Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages…
And specially from every shires ende Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende…
Towards the end of Chaucer’s reading, the solo voice is joined by a section of the pilgrims. As Chaucer ends his reading, the rest of the cast join the singing and the song builds to its usual pace and volume.
64: SONG: TO CANTERBURY
Solo/small group To Canterbury, Walsingham; Compostella, Jerusalem; Tread the highway, hard and long; Tell your story, sing your song…
A drum gives the beat, other instruments join in and the whole cast turns to give a spirited rendition of the anthem. full cast Pardoner, Ploughman, Man of Law; Summoner, Shipman, rich and poor…
Life’s a journey full of woe, Pilgrims passing to and fro; Knight or Yeoman, just the same; Feed the hungry, lift the lame.
Miller and Merchant, Cook and Squire; Doctor and Franklin, Monk and Friar…
He’s my brother, take his hand; Make the time to understand; Farce and fable, cry or laugh; Take the grain and leave the chaff.
Manciple, Parson, Scholar, Nun; Audience, actors, everyone…
To Canterbury, Walsingham; Compostella, Jerusalem; Tread the highway, hard and long; Tell your story, sing your song.
The show ends on an up-beat tone, with drums and sudden black-out.
53