In the World Above, the Sun King lays a heavy hand on all aspects of life - in his eunomy, something can either be vaunted, controlled, illuminated, or banned, forbidden, Exiled.
The theatre is no exception. When you say “actor”, the average law-abiding citizen will think of a charming Chantry officer selected for excellent memory, a clear voice and a likeable manner. Some actors become locally famous, receiving mock-Images and attending all the parties of the gentry.
The Morality Plays are the perfect opposite of the masked theatre.
Where masked theatre is improvised, morality plays are stiffly formal and heavily practised. Where masked theatre is crude and vernacular, morality plays are refined and formalised. Where masked theatre is purely for entertainment, the morality plays (naturally) have a different priority. Where masked theatre is open to anyone without something better to do, in the morality plays, only Chantry officers are allowed to step onto the stage. Where masked theatre uses improvised sets on anything tall, the morality plays have dedicated rooms and buildings, and a budget. Where masked theatre is performed in an almost guerilla manner, the morality plays sit firmly and comfortably ensconced within the halls of power.
Lastly - if a masked play resembles another troupe’s play, then it’s an embarrassment, a waste of an evening and possibly grounds for a brawl. If a morality play does not resemble every other morality play of its type, it’s a failure, an aberration, and possibly the result of some internal Chantry mistake. Due to this, the canonical morality plays are some of the very rare cultural touchstones that are genuinely universal across the world.
Despite that, it is impossible to repress the creative spirit of the actors and the stagers. A perfect reproduction of a play is impossible, so variance within a certain bound is allowed. This creates a gradient across the kingdom - a play put on in Xiata will be pretty similar to the same one put on in Dramyth, but will probably end up quite different in tone, if not content, from the same play put on in Chelborc.
Still, some elements are non-negotiable. Actors depicting important figures are never masked, and never hatted either. There are strict rules for costuming - two general costumes for each part of the Kingdom, a man’s and a woman’s, which are usually accurate, if old-fashioned and overdecorated. For example, the Kelkoran Man’s costume is more accurate to what was worn in Okiri about the year 900, but it remains the costume, and probably will never be changed. Each Chantry office will have a couple of each type - they are never identical to each other, but always recognisably of a kind.
In addition, various accoutrements create Noble, Outlaw, Military, Comital and Ducal variants of each local costume. Then, there are two Signatorial costumes, with accoutrements to indicate the Signatory’s place of origin. Then, there are hooded, nonspecific, drab costumes, worn by a group of five to eight silent actors, to represent a crowd, the Masses. Lastly, there are the Knights’ costumes. The Chantry cannot remove the revered and beloved status of Knights, they can only work around it.
Cranes, pyrotechnics, loud noises, and other trickery, are thoroughly forbidden. No daimon ex machina. There is a chorus, who introduce, comment, explain and conclude. There are three musicians, who accompany given scenes with the appropriate music (musical notation is not classed as writing, you might be interested to know).
Actors depicting spirits are always masked, and these masks usually depict expressionless human faces, or animals, and are plain and undecorated. With these, full-body black clothing, black shoes, black gloves, and a voluminous, silhouette-eating black cloak. Even a child in the Kingdom is dimly aware that there are differing kinds of spirits, but no distinction of Kin is made in the play, and very rarely is a title or name given.
Plays are preserved and passed down as oral tradition, with the help of books of mnemonic images. If your Chantry office forgets a play, it is of course a terrible moral failing, but you can always send a courier to the Capital to receive a refresh on the canonical plays from the master record.
There is a rhythm to the theatrical year - plays are shown on the last day of every second month, resulting in one in Spring, two in Summer, one in Autumn, and two in Winter. The last play of the year is on the last day of the year, and is always a much larger production - it melds smoothly into the general celebrations that take place at that time.
Every Chantry office is given dispensation to develop their own morality plays - each individual town, valley or city district will have its own moral needs (and moral failings), of course, so each must have a carefully-considered program of moral education. However, there are twelve universal, canonical morality plays, which all Chantry Offices everywhere will put on. With six plays a year, you might expect to see three of the canonical ones and three of your own local Chantry’s ideas in a given year, and have a gap of about four years before any plays repeat.
The twelve canonical morality plays are as follows:
The Great Ship, or the Virtue of Initiative
Set in 960, when the Seriasi Sea is bedevilled by pirates. It’s written up in more detail below.
The Last Three Duels, or the Virtue of Honour
Set in 1130, in Saral Sar, just before duelling is outlawed. A strange sort of piece, which simultaneously extols those who take steps to defend their honour, and condemns duelling as a stupid and outdated practice. Some Scribes suppose it was supposed to have whatever replaced duelling added in later, as a post facto thing, but nothing ever did.
The Siege of Okiri, or the Virtue of Prowess
Set in 735, a dramatisation of the conquest of the Kelkoran capital, Okiri, by the forces of the King. A war story that ends in Royal victory. Has an unusual element - both General Nadejda Omaciw, a Zzargovi, and the Kelkoran Peshwa, Dipak-Arjun, are presented as possessing the eponymous virtue, and in a sympathetic or even tragic light. Popular for the swordfights.
The Two Artists, or the Virtue of Beauty
Set in 1379 in the city of Chelborc, Two artists compete to paint the most beautiful portrait of the woman they are both suitors to, driving themselves half-crazy in the process. One resorts to the aid of a spirit, and is ruined, the other asks a scribe for help, and is driven mad, but both produce their portraits. Then (in a line aimed right at the audience), the woman’s mother says that neither portrait is as beautiful as her daughter, and sends both artists away.
Signatory Kine Defeats the Pestilence, or the Virtue of Selflessness
Set in 1221, when the Pestilence sweeps Draad. It’s written up in more detail below.
The Burning Years, or the The Virtue of Fortitude
Set 1008 in the city of Palav, during a time of revolt and unrest called the Burning Years. The Tower Knights’ fortress of Svelezot, which was in the middle of Palav, has been burnt down by a mob, and disorder rules the streets (this is a lie - in history, the army burned it down deliberately). The play is honestly sort of a crime drama, following Katrina Aulay, the head of the night watch of Palav, as she attempts to restore order and justice to the streets of Palav. Popular because of all the violence.
Sven the Boat Builder, or the Virtue of Diligence
Set in 1315 in the city of Aikamo, while the city is experiencing a boom. The story of Sven, a good-hearted, uncomplicated, hard-working man who builds boats. While working, he saves a Signatory from thieves, then from murderous outlaws, without failing to complete his tasks. Eventually he marries the Signatory and becomes prosperous and successful.
Young Edith or the Virtue of Chastity
Set in 1400 in the countryside outside Amdusay, in peaceful times. The story of Edith, a young village woman, resisting temptation, living virtuously and carefully navigating the dramas of her home village, and being rewarded for it. Masked players of a vulgar persuasion (so, all of them) and Scribes of a more comedic style occasionally employ the character of Young Edith in a manner intended to, ahem, satire the original moral message of her play.
The Soft Spoken Signatory, or the Virtue of Propriety
Set in 1380 in the Royal Capital, Irgavio Sol, in good times. Effectively a sort of comedy of manners, following the mild-mannered Signatory Kvast, who navigates through Signatorial life with utmost propriety (a rosy version of it, of course, but with some surprisingly satirical personalities). Light on plot, but (truthfully) pretty witty and funny.
Tis Good to Gift, or the Virtue of Generosity
Set 1240, in Saral Sar, in lean times. The protagonist, Count Rose of the (fictional) Nuinio County, gives out food and treasure to her subjects to protect them from the depredations of outlaws, mercenaries and spirits who would take advantage of this weakness. She is driven to bankruptcy and hunger by her generosity, but then a direct gift from the King reverses her fortunes and the fortunes of her people, and from then on they prosper.
The Liars’ Reward, or the Virtue of Honesty
Set in 1320, in the hills outside of Carathis and then spreading out from there. The story of a gang of thieves who steal a portion of the Duke’s treasures, but are caught one by one in various places. Each is sent to Exile, but the last thief, who admits his crime and turns himself in, is given a pardon by the local Chantry office.
The Fall of the Knights, or the Virtue of Piety
Set in 905, in various places, but primarily in the area of Valentia, in difficult, tragic times. A dramatisation of the Knights’ Rebellion from the Royal point of view. This is the only play which uses the Knights’ costumes. Presents the Knights as good and moral, but possessed and tricked by spirits, and presents them all either slain or Exiled, which is not accurate to history.
I have written up two of these in more detail below, as illustrative examples of the type of production these things are.
The Great Ship, or the Virtue of Initiative
Sets:
Rozendak Harbour
Vel Sera Harbour
At Sea
Characters:
Dariusz Canario (Costume: Seriasi Man)
A poor son of Rozendak. Possesses great initiative.Portmaster Prudence Yi (Costume: Seriasi Woman, Noble)
The master of the port of the Seriasi city of Rozendak. Holds grudges.Captain Courage (Costume: Seriasi Man, Military)
The elderly captain of the eponymous ship.Portmaster Alfred Jin Unda (Costume: Dradian Man, Noble)
The master of the port of the Dradian city of Vel Sera. Overly cautious.Leah Edith Unda (Costume: Dradian Woman, Noble)
The unmarried daughter of the Portmaster. Lonely.Captain Sangue (Costume: Seriasi Woman, Outlaw)
A notorious pirate of the Seriasi Sea.The Masses, Ships’ Crews
The Chorus tells us it is the year 960, and the Seriasi Sea is bedevilled by many pirates. Dariusz, a poor docker working in Rozendak, leaps to assist Portmaster Yi during an attack by the pirates led by Captain Sangue. Saving her life, he is rewarded with trust, and eventually a position upon the “Great Ship”, which sails back and forth between Rozendak and Vel Sera with important passengers, materials and messages.
The ship is attacked by Captain Sangue, and Captain Courage is killed, but Dariusz leaps to take command of the scattered crew, and repels the pirates. They make it to Vel Sera, where he meets the overly cautious Portmaster Unda (and his daughter), who are tormented by the tribute Captain Sangue extracts from them and the city.
Dariusz leaps again, and takes the Great Ship back out, to hunt down Sangue, avenge Courage, and protect the city. He does so, and after an elaborately choreographed final fight, Sangue is slain and Dariusz returns a champion to Vel Sera, where he is made official captain of the Great Ship and marries Leah.
The End.
+++++++
Signatory Kine Defeats the Pestilence, or the Virtue of Selflessness
Sets:
The City of Dramyth
The Palace of the Grand Duchess
Kine’s Hospital
Characters:
Signatory Edward Jing Kine (Costume: Dradian Man, Signatory)
A chirurgeon of Vel Index. Possesses great Selflessness.The Masses, of the City of Dramyth
Two Nameless Chirurgeons (Costume: Seriasi Man and Dradian Woman, Signatories)
High Chirurgeon Mallow Sakhri (Costume: Sarali Woman, Signatory)
Head of the Needle Charter. Intelligent but overwhelmed.Grand Duchess Jin Elizabeth Hongliang (Costume: Dradian Woman, Ducal)
Ruler of Draad. Noble but impatient.A Spirit, Carrying a Brush
The Chorus tells us it is the year 1221, and the City of Dramyth prospers. Six of the Masses dance to the music. Then, the Spirit enters and begins to “paint” each individual member with the brush they carry. As they are brushed, the Masses stop dancing, then begin to cough, and fall. The Chorus tells us that the Pestilence comes to the city. Some recover, due to the attention of the Chirurgeons (as the two nameless Chirurgeons come on and walk away two of the Masses), but most do not. The Masses who do not recover remain lying on the floor for the rest of the play. The spirit watches from the side of the stage.
High Chirurgeon Sakhri bemoans that the Chirurgeons can only be in so many places at once. The Grand Duchess appears to chastise the High Chirurgeon, and demands that she work to remove the Pestilence from the city with greater fervour. While they speak, the spirit walks over and paints each with the brush, though neither reacts.
The nameless Chirurgeons from earlier enter as the Grand Duchess and Sakhri exit, bringing the two recovered Masses. The Chorus explains we are entering the hospital of Signatory Kine, formerly his house. Kine is here, trying to treat the sick (the ones lying on the floor are arranged more neatly by Kine, but still do not rise). The Chirurgeons implore Kine to give up and flee the city with them - it’s a lost cause. Kine rejects this, and says that there must be some way to prevent the pestilence beyond just the miraculous powers of the Needle Charter. While they talk, the Spirit paints the two nameless chirurgeons with the brush.
The Chorus tells us that the nobility, the signatories, and whoever else can, have begun to flee the city. But Kine remains behind to operate his hospital, regardless of the risk of death. He monologues to the audience his discoveries on the nature and origins of illness - this is how modern, or Kinean, medicine, is explained to the populace. After his monologue, the spirit approaches to paint Kine with the brush, but he holds up a hand, and the spirit silently retreats.
Kine cures the city with his new medical techniques. The Grand Duchess, in recognition of his selflessness, gives him an estate in the city so he no longer needs to sleep in the attic of his hospital. He converts this estate to be a second, even larger hospital. This is a real, true thing that the real Kine actually did, and not even Chantry propaganda. In recognition of his revolutions of medicine, Sakhri makes Kine the new High Chirurgeon and retires.
The End.
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