Everyman

Everyman is an allegorical verse play written in the 15th century. When summoned up by Death to go on his last journey, Everyman tries in vain to get some of his worldly friends to go with him. But all, from Kindred to Riches, from Beauty to Strength, abandon him, except for Good Deeds who takes him through Confession to a peaceful end.

Beyond its medieval setting and language, Everyman is a tale of all times telling the agony and despair of a man at death?s doors realising that all his worldly goods will stand him in no good stead. Beyond its seemingly dignified tone, the humour of the play lies in the bewildered central character?s naivety and the righteous stubbornness of his too-worldly ?friends? who all refuse to follow him to the grave. This comes to life through the verse which, since then, has defined a form of English poetry (the so-called ?Everyman verse?). The very human and forgivable attitude of the characters when asked to accompany the dying man on his last journey provide the comic relief that draws us into the drama.

Little Spaniel Theatre have recently been invited to be Company in Residence at St Bartholomew the Great and to launch this partnership we are presenting a production of the morality play Everyman.

Over the last two years, we have created a very strong ensemble of classical players working together regularly as a Rep company. We are skilled at classical texts and strongly committed to producing classical drama in a contemporary way. We believe that Europe is home to the greatest dramatic tradition in the world and that this fantastic heritage needs to be celebrated, perpetuated and further developed if it is not to be lost. That is why the choice of a genre-defining medieval morality play to launch our collaboration with 12th century St Bartholomew the Great is perfectly appropriate.