1503: Arnold the Falconer, Part 2.1.03/ Birds of a Feather

Cast:

  • Royal Court
  • King (Part of the Royal Court)
  • Jester
  • Mertonsire
  • Arnold the Falconer
  • Minor Roles
    • Town Crier
    • Chip Carver
    • Peter the Potter
    • Helga Smelter
    • Lord (or Lady) Bumble

Synopsis:

Begins with a greeting by the Jester, followed by the Royal Procession. All dialogue is supplied for the Wassail and Boar’s Head festivities. “Happy MAD!” It’s “Monarch Appreciation Day” and everyone in the realm, from pauper to prince, is showering the king with gift upon gift. Everyone except Mertonsire, that is. Having forgotten to get a present “fit for a king,” Mertonsire, Lord of Misrule and General Attaché in all Manners of Etiquette and Decorum, must scrounge for a gift.

Speaking of “scrounge,” Arnold the Falconer arrives and, to the delight of the Royal Court, is able to supply feathery friends and finery for the fops and fools who frequent the Court. And speaking of “fools,” the Jester, (who is nobody’s fool) helps and often hinders Mertonsire (who is indeed, everybody’s fool . . . or almost everybody’s.)

And speaking of “speaking,” this show has a larger cast of minor characters than many previous shows. These characters include Chip Carver, head of the Woodworkers’ Guild, and Peter the Potter, head of the Pottery Pickers’ Guild, whose motto is, “We pick a peck of pottery for persnickety people.”

Among others who present presents to the King are Helga Smelter of the Iron Workers’ Guild and irrepressible Lord Bumble (who makes Mertonsire seem positively regal.) As always there is a Town Crier, with many lines and the Royal Court with more than many lines. Topping it all off like frosting on a cob of corn is Arnold the Falconer’s brother, Arthur the Confectioner, who “cooks up a little something” to help Mertonsire with his gift-giving dilemma.

Mertonsire’s dilemma? Just what do you get a King who has everything? Your audience will delight in the rollicking good fun that ensues as Mertonsire and Jester endeavor to find the perfect “MAD” gift without going mad in the process.