Performances

In 1561 Agnes Leaman was ducked in the river Wensum in Norwich. She was one of many men and women who were punished for 'ill rule' and 'evil behaviour'. Theirs were the petty crimes of drunkenness,  theft and other misbehaviour. They were real people whose deeds are revealed from court records and the folk stories of long ago! This performance is a fusion of factual stories taken from all ‘classes’ of society with fictional stories about beggars, thieves & pedlars; Merchants, Lords & Kings.

The Shaming of Agnes Leman

Some time between 1320 & 1340 Geoffrey Luttrell commissioned a Psalter. A collection of illuminated Psalms that has become famous for the incredible detail and scope of images held within its pages. There are of course many biblical scenes as you might expect in a religious work such as this, but also many comic and not so comic scenes from contemporary rustic life. From the wife beating her husband with her distaff, to wrestlers wrestling and bear baiters baiting bears. From a ploughmen ploughing to dancers dancing and drunkards fighting. From a hen-wife feeding her hens to mock bishops and any amount of demons and other grotesques.  They are in the Psalter because all are stock figures in medieval culture and all appear in many a medieval tale. And many of them get a chance to tell their stories in this performance.

Luttrell Voices

Although I already offer sessions that focus on devilish tales, this performance is for adults and older children and considers the often ambiguous role of the Devil in stories from different cultures and different times. From tales that cast him as a figure of hate and fear to tales that cast him as figure of fun to be mocked. And many more stories that highlight his role in exposing the vice, greed, foolishness and hypocrisy of others!

The Devil Take You  

The role of the Devil and other demons in stories

There are many stock characters in story, but some of the most colourful are the fool, Death himself and the scolding woman. They may seem very different to modern eyes, but when it comes to the ideas and beliefs of long ago they were all considered to pose a danger and so all serve a similar function in stories, for all seek to level men!

Dickfools, Death and the Nature of Women

A different view of the female from long, long ago, with tales that celebrate the wit and wisdom of women and also the cunning of men. There were some well known cunning men like the celebrated Tudor astrologer-physician Simon Forman, who could find things that were lost. But there were a lot more unnamed hen-wives and wise women who lived on the periphery of town and village and often haunted the dark places of many a superstitious mind!

Wise Women & Cunning Men

Dame Fortune’s Wheel & The Three Estates