James Jennings (6)

Plays from the Middle Ages, when most plays were centered around church and faith. The plays are short, but peppered with long speeches that proclaim the faith, or lack thereof, of the characters variously portrayed. Each story is moralistic, with a particular message of the church, including judgment and redemption. The first two plays are interesting in that they pre-date the crucifixion and resurrection (one is Noah's Flood, the other the birth of Jesus), but both of them contain references that would be commonly understood by Christians of the time (and today) but would have been unknown at the time the play was set. This suggests that early playgoers might have been a little less particular about the content of their plays, and perhaps the playwrights were less up on their theology than they were on orthodoxy. The plays are an interesting look at the history of theatre.… (más)