Morality Play-notes Act and Morality

10/3/2007:
The story is about an older man who is a historian and scholar interested in theater and medieval history- who is writing a Morality Play in present time. He is concerned that people have forgotten this style of play writing because most of the plays in this form were lost over the years. He wants to write a great play using the influence of the known Morality plays surviving-Everyman and some historical writings both plays and novels. He wants to use the dialect of the time of the plays and he wants it to be authentic. He is struggling because of he can’t grasp the authentic dialect and the true moral questions of these plays. He becomes obsessed with this time period and is so immersed that his social life is abandoned and he has turned to drinking and opium and delirium sets in. He cannot recognize the dream world from reality. While looking at old manuscripts, and in the influence of narcotic and absinth at his home late at night , he is visited by an illusion that he is in a 15th century market scene by the town hall. He is in a crowd of shoppers buying fish heads and cow tongues and livers. The smell is overpowering and making him dizzy. He hears the the market banter and the servants are busy shopping and bartering.Black cats and chickens are loose and kids are stealing some of the produce.

Amongst the madness, he is struggling to leave this pandemonium. He seems that he is not visible. He is unbalanced in these new surroundings and he is disoriented but fascinated by the environment. Everyone is busy and he may not be noticed. He eventually finds himself in the town square where he vaguely recognizes the architecture and clothing and dialect as those of the 1500s when the morality plays were most popular. He sees a commotion of people gathering. A very tall figure in a black cape with a mask and staff is seen and heard to be speaking loudly over the crowd. He is a barker introducing the traveling troupe of players who want to perform at twilight . “Hear ye, Shall you join us at twilight for Morality-Good versus Evil. Who shall prevail” Can you believe the good fortune. To see an actual morality play after all the research and work he has struggled to put together.

He wakes up to the sound of his phone and hears the answering machine and the voice of frustration that is his agent. This brings him back to reality but he feels that he should record the dream immediately. The agent reminds him of the past deadlines and the last advancement of money that has received. The publishers are losing patience. After recording all he can remember, he is again stuck with the problem of how to write the morality play. He dwells on the barker and in despair returns to the bottle. After passing out on the desk by the typewriter, he is again transported to the same town hall square. It is now twilight. People are starting to gather. There is a cleared stage area with torch lights , curtains and a barn. He hadn’t noticed the staging area previously. The barn had one side open and bales of hay were scattered. The crowd is getting restless. Babies are crying, dogs are loose and fighting.