Speak the culture britain be fluent in b 197

Play list: the key genres of medieval drama Mystery plays Full-blown biblical epics told from Creation to Last Judgement and often run over days Towns in England had their own mystery play ‘cycles’: versions from York (comprising 48 pageants), Chester and Wakefield survive almost intact Guilds of craftsmen acted out the different parts, the parable often relating to their trade – so, for example, the shipwrights would take charge of Noah and the Flood This association with the guilds engendered the ‘mystery’ name, derived from mysterium, a Latin word meaning handicraft Morality plays The didactic child of mystery plays, they pitched vice against virtue (personified with different characters) and made sure that morality romped home with the mortal soul Everyman, dating to the late 15th century, is the most famous example Interludes Performed as a digestif between courses at a banquet, or within the acts of a larger play, interludes were usually secular skits; amusing, sometimes farcical diversions that often satirised local public figures Others followed the morality format Folk Plays By the late 15th century, the green tights of Robin Hood were a standard fixture of the theatre wardrobe Tied in to pagan spring celebrations, the outlaw story made for popular drama, touring around England and Scotland to the accompaniment of morris dancing and archery competitions Henry VIII took part in Robin Hood plays as a young man, before the story of subversion against the Crown began to rankle and the genre was suppressed and superseded by the story of St George Stage presence: the dawn of the theatre British drama mushroomed in the 16th century, rapidly evolving from the didactic morality/mystery mode of old into the secular, professional and terrifically creative strand of British culture that rose to a crescendo with William Shakespeare The impetus for staging drama moved from the Church to the nobility, a transition spearheaded by Henry VII with his small troupe of court actors Wealthy lords followed his lead, retaining their own 187 Identity: the foundations of British culture Literature and philosophy Art, architecture and design Performing arts Cinema, photography and fashion Media and communications Food and drink Living culture: the state of modern Britain