Staging Faith: East Anglian Drama in the Later Middle AgesVictor I. Scherb
Book Review
In his study of medieval plays from east Anglia Victor Scherb echoes one of the concerns of Rainer Warning: an interest in the way of performance contributed to the transmission and dissemination of doctrine. The plays he targets are a rather mixed group from different genres, and he does not attempt to formulate a theory of East Anglian drama so much as to dwell upon a number of different characteristics shared by the different groups of plays here examined. A good deal of the book is an exposition of how these plays might have been performed. The material available for this is often scanty, but the author does succeed in making a good deal out of it. In particular he points to a number of plays where the action depends upon there being separate fixed loci designated for specific characters as well as important unlocalized places between them upon which much action could be performed. He makes a special note of plays where there are processions or progresses between the specified loci, as in The Conversion of St. Paul. With a different configuration, however, he notes some plays like Mankind and Wisdom where the whole of the acting space is completely unlocalized, and there is no attempt to play the loci against the intervening acting place. These methods of staging are not specifically confined to East Anglia, but it can be said that writers and performers from the area were conversant with them and set out to make use of them. There is also the possibility that successful work in one part of the region influenced that in others. But the “faith” aspect of the book’s title also needs attention, and here we find that the author has been able to relate some aspects of the play to features of East Anglian life. Once again the material cannot be regarded as confined to the area, but he does demonstrate that in respect of iconography and other cultural practices, the plays under discussion formed a continuum with other matters to do with aesthetics and the practices of faith. Part of the strength of the presentation lies in the reliance upon the prosperity of the area, and its ability to generate a vigorous cultural life within its communities, whether lay or clerical or both. This extends also to social and feudal relationships. An important feature here is the many different ways in which space and location acquire symbolic associations. Often there is a particular need to present the material and carnal world with its sinful content as in the Digby Mary Magdalen. But there are also aspects that underline the devotional content of the plays, especially in the plays dealing with the Virgin Mary in N-Town. This is enhanced by attention to the mnemonic features in several of the plays. The author is clearly concerned to show that recapitulation is a pervading feature, and there is no doubt that it contributes a great deal to the spiritual state of the audience. The range of religious experience in which they participate is also seen in social terms. The complexity of the plays under review gives opportunities to reflect many such aspects. Besides positive faith these include doubt as well as faith, some of it subversive, and also a response in the assertion of orthodoxy. The abuse of political power is shown to be a persistent theme in several plays. There is also a significant emphasis upon the spiritual authority of holy women. The commentary upon the Digby Mary Magdalen is an important feature in this respect. In part Mary is seen as a transforming influence through her preaching as well as through the divine inspiration she embodies. In an earthly world she is seen as a divine nuntia who transforms, and yet in the process the dramatist reflects the community in which he is working and for whom her message is so potent. It is also of interest that there are reflections of the presences of lollardy in East Anglia, and the author notes in his discussion of Mary Magdalen that the dramatist needs to be circumspect in view of the association of lollardy, and the potential for heresy, with preaching by women. Nevertheless the devotional urgency of the play is seen as dominating and the earthly flaws are observed against a transcendental structure and one which is emphasized by iconic presentation from time to time in the play. The consideration of large-scale plays is a feature of this study, especially The Castle of Perseverance and the N-Town play. From the point of view of staging there is little doubt that, although these two texts cannot be identified with specific places, they evidence an interest in complex narrative and staging and that they are capable of reflecting a wide range of religious practice and imagery. In the former Scherb observes that the human propensity to sin is emphasized by the arrangement of the scaffolds and also by the many different movements across the central space. In the distinctive Passion sequences of N-Town the central space is particularly associated with the fallen world. However, the somewhat eclectic nature of this collection of plays makes a comprehensive interpretation of this cycle rather difficult. [This study embodies] much that is of interest to students of medieval theater, and much that offers insight into this huge and varied corpus. In both cases the overall thesis may well be open to objection, but the alert and sensitive observation in both works is to be welcomed. Peter Happê, University of Southampton To see a full description of this book, search our online database
Comparative Drama
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