1478: A Knight to Remember

Cast:

• Royal Court
• Jester, Ancient Knight
• Town Crier
• Two Pages (non-speaking)
• Knight (Optional, non-speaking)
• Beggar (Optional, non-speaking)

Synopsis:

Begins with a greeting by the Jester, followed by the Royal Procession. Dialogue is supplied for the Wassail and Boar’s Head festivities, and three short act-lets during the meal. These include several plays on the word Page, as in Royal Court Pages, vs. page one, page two, blank page, etc. The final act-let is called, “Help Stamp Out Dumb Jokes.” And not a moment too soon.

Following the dessert, the Jester enters and begins a dialogue with the Royal Court regarding the flatness or roundness of the world, only to be interrupted by an slightly deaf Ancient Knight sitting on a parapet. They exchange jests and several plays on the word, “knight”. When the Ancient Knight complains about two many “Knight” jokes, the Jester answers him in a rhyme delivered at a headlong pace,

“Well . . . since . . . Knighthood is in flower, / And it is within my power, / I have every good intention / Of a moderate invention / Of a jest or two about a knight.”

This gets faster and faster and even yet faster.

Dialogue is also supplied for the short concert which follows. The Jester bids a poignant farewell to the audience prior to the recessional. The dialogue is rhymed throughout. This script is easy, has few characters, and a good beginning for a long-running Madrigal Dinner tradition.