1494: Mertonsire, Lord of Misrule

Cast:

  • Royal Court
  • Jester
  • Mertonsire Lord of Misrule
  • His Majesty’s Half-Act Players
    • Petulant
    • Hector
    • Tyrone
  • Smaller roles
    • Surveyor 1
    • Surveyor 2
    • Checker of the Ex-Chancellor

Synopsis:

The script begins with a greeting by the Jester, which is rudely interrupted by “an outrageous merger of motley and racket,” who calls himself the “Lord of the Rules.” A battle of wits ensues culminating in the Jester dubbing the deluded intruder, “The Lord of Mis-rule.” Both characters appear throughout the festivities. Four short scenes enliven the various courses of the meal and are performed in the middle of the hall by “His Majesty’s Half-Act Players.” The scenes are off-the-Renaissance-wall references to the Information Highway, computers, and mergers. (How could that possibly be, you might ask? Well, that’s what I have been asking myself also, and I wrote it. But trust me . . . it works!)

The third act of the Masque follows the dessert and is a spirited attempt to dissuade the King from downsizing the arts in general . . . and the Half-Act Players in particular. After a look on the positive side of downsizing (Eight Commandments not ten, five deadly sins not seven), His Majesty’s Half-Act Players are summoned. The King suggests they perform, “Snow White and the Four Dwarfs.” (“That’s Seven Dwarfs!”. . . “Not any more.”) Instead they use their nimble wits and agile tongues to do a zany version of “Sleeping Beauty,” using four actors to play twenty-five roles! (Again, you might ask, “How could that be?” I’m glad you asked.) The actors form a queue and each actor takes a role as it is his or her turn, snatching props from the prop table and appearing in character on the center stage. When a character leaves the stage, the actor returns to the end of the queue ready to take his or her next role. It is all jolly great fun amid the chaos and . . . a rollicking audience pleaser.

This script is really fun to do. . . a joy! This script provides all the necessary dialogue and is very usable any time of the year.