Here is a modern interlude, based on the original Fulgens and Lucres, written by Henry Medwall and commissioned by John Morton. This interlude regards the dispute of employment and citizenship. It shall be derived in two parts and is to be performed at two times. Written by Claire Coutts, a first year undergraduate at the University of Kent.[1]
Printed
Kent
2014
[1] Henry Medwall, Fulgens and Lucres, in Medieval Drama: An Anthology , ed. Greg Walker(Blackwell Publishing, 2000) p.304.
‘Dramatis Personae’
– Ferguson (Governor)
– Lucy (Chief of Surgery)
– Colin (Young English Dr)
– Alex (Experienced Foreign Dr)
– Anna ( Young Medical Student)
– Bethany (Young Medical Student)
Summary
Anna and Bethany open the play with an enquiry, as to the presence of a crowd, and continue on to give a brief summary of the play. Lucy, the chief of surgery, has released an advertisement for a position of a surgeon within the hospital. After going through many applications she finds herself with two possible candidates, both of which are equally good for the job. However, with the current economic climate, she finds herself wondering if she should choose the young English Colin, knowing the issue of unemployment, or the experienced Alex, coming from another country to work in England. The play follows her choice and the challenges faced by both Alex and Colin in order to prove themselves. Stressed by the decision, Lucy turns to one of the Governors; Ferguson. Ferguson trusts her judgement and knows she will make the right choice. Both candidates are called for a final interview and one last chance to prove their worthiness. A decision is made but never revealed.
Scene 1
(Crowd will be gathered in a street, Anna steps into the centre of the crowd. Actors are immersed within the audience.)
Anna
What is going on here?
(Looks around)
Don’t you have places to be?
Jobs to be at?
(Nobody answers her, she pauses)
If you decide to leave, I won’t chase you.
You are welcome to stay, but I don’t know why.
(Looks around again)
I’m not sure what we are all waiting for…
A bus?
(Bethany enters and walks forward towards Anna)
Bethany
Hey, you can stay if you like, there’s going to be a play.
I’m sure no one here will tell you to leave.
Anna
(Addressing the audience)
Oh so that is why we are all here.
Bethany
Yeah.
Anna
Good, I love a good play, especially a free one!
Are you one of the actors?
Bethany
No!
Do I look like an actor?
Anna
Sorry I didn’t know,
I don’t like to judge by appearances, you could have been anyone.
(Gestures to the crowd)
You can’t tell in this crowd who is an actor and who isn’t.
So when does this play start?
Bethany
I’m not sure, but it will be good.
Anna
Do you know what it is about?
Bethany
Yes,
(Speaks to the audience.)
It started because of a job opening, a surgeon needed in a hospital. Out of hundreds of applicants only two remained.
The first was Colin.
(Colin steps forward, putting on his lab coat and glasses)
He had just finished med school, a young English lad, fresh faced and ready to save the world.
The other, was Alex.
(Alex steps forward, puts his lab coat on and places a pen in his pocket)
Alex was new to England, recently moved, in search of better employment prospects. He was older than Colin, with experience under his belt, well known in his area.
Both men were strong candidates.
The issue lay in their origin.
(Colin and Alex stand next to each other)
With unemployment rates rising and more and more migrants turning to England for the hope of work, Lucy was left with a difficult decision. Should the young new English graduate receive the position or should the experienced immigrant be given the job?
After much consideration and many challenges to prove themselves, the Governor was eventually given the final decision.
A decision was made.
(Pause)
But that’s not important.
I think the play is going to start soon!
Anna
What was the decision?
Bethany
It doesn’t matter who got the job, both were equally qualified.
The final decision is unimportant.
Anna
That’s not a very good conclusion
(Gestures to the audience)
They won’t be happy with that
Bethany
Why not?
Why should they care? It doesn’t affect them.
Anyway it’s about to start!
(Gestures for the audience to move so Ferguson and Lucy can walk through)
Let them through!!
Background
Immigration aims to enhance the British culture, expanding our intelligence, economy and acceptance of different cultures. In accordance to this, Britain advertises itself as a prime location to study and work. As a result of this increase in population due to immigration, the unemployment rate has increased significantly. The ratio between supply and demand for employment is consequently unable to balance itself. This ratio was made more unstable by the financial disaster of the recession. When the recession hit England with force in 2008, the unemployment rate was sitting at 5%, by the end of 2009 this had risen to 8%, adding approximately a million in one year. By 2011 it was officially at its highest point in 17 years.[1] We are still experiencing the effects of the recession, despite no longer being within it. The continuation of immigration and poor economy means the employment rate is still considerably low. Unemployment and immigration are present issues within our modern society.
The main focus presented throughout ‘Fulgens and Lucres’ is the debate about nobility and whether ‘nobility of character outweighs nobility of blood’[2]. It is this issue that has been manipulated within ‘Home or Away’, taken from its contemporary context and twisted to fit a modern society. In this way, the issue of nobility has been replaced with employment; the debate of nature vs. nurture is still present, as the play contests the issues about employment and citizenship. The argument is based upon two applicants, fighting for the same job; a British citizen against a non British citizen. The issue is fixated on unemployment and how British people need employment in our current economic climate, but foreign applicants are often better suited, more education and with higher experience. The play discusses the question of who, therefore, should be given employment.
Staging
‘Fulgens and Lucres’ is commonly believed to have been performed within a Great Hall. Despite the lack of a clear performance space within the Hall, the audience would have still maintained in a superior position. The use of the Hall for a feast would have helped to create this higher social status of the aristocracy, whom scholars assume the performance was held for; this is supported by Fitzgerald and Sebastian who argue that ‘Fulgens and Lucres’ was ‘designed to entertain a powerful lord and his household guests in an atmosphere of festivity’[3]. This clear defined authority would have meant that the actors, who consequently entered the space following the audience, would have ‘walked a difficult and delicate line between taking control of the performance space and being aware that they were not equals within it’[4]. This issue and distinction of class and status within the Hall is changed within a modern context. Status has less implication amongst a modern society and the actors can therefore become part of the audience without threatening any control or authority. ‘Home or Away’ is to be performed in a form of street theatre. By altering the ‘stage’ into a communal area it removes any implication of status or authority that could be perceived regarding any space. When plays like ‘Fulgens and Lucres’ were being performed, theatre was intended for the upper class, it was not usually something experienced by the everyday people. By removing this barrier of classes and placing it within a space open to everyone, the issue of class and status is removed from the performance. Thus, leaving the audience to focus on the new issue that is much more relevant to the immediate, modern spectators. Within ‘Fulgens and Lucres’ it is A and B who occupy the liminal position, breaking the boundaries and conventions of performance. By extending this, and completely blurring the lines between actor and audience, ‘Home or Away’ allows them to completely become part of the debate. As the actors emerge out of the audience, putting only one extra item of clothing on to represent their character, there is little that separates the two.
‘Fulgens and Lucres’ places its story within ancient Rome. This emphasis on the temporal distance has the effect of removing the issues of the play from its contemporary audience; however this is ironic as the comments made by the play are very much relevant to the immediate audience. Creating this effect with a modern issue is very difficult as the combined issues of employment and migration are very modern and cannot be transferred to a previous time period. It is for this reason that there is also the absence of the comical sub-plot. The humorous sub-plot includes both A and B, and lies in parallel to the main plot. It supplies a distraction ‘from the seditious potential of the subject matter… [and] to make the conclusion to the debate more palatable’[5]. In current society it is not deemed politically correct to place such serious issues within a comical framework. Using both Anna and Bethany to create a parallel story that mirrors the main plot could raise more issues that it aims to subdue. By removing the sub-plot of A and B, the use of a street theatre will substitute ‘the link between the real world and the play’s imagined one’ that was originally ‘embodied in the roles of “A” and “B”’[6].
Word Count: 1614
Endnotes
[1] ‘Economy tracker: Unemployment’, BBC News, 19th February 2014, News Business Section http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10604117 [accessed 26 February 2014]
[2] Henry Medwall, Fulgens and Lucres, ed. By C.M, Fitzgerald and J.T, Sebastian, The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama (Broadview Press, 2012) p.392
[3] Henry Medwall, Fulgens and Lucres, ed. By C.M, Fitzgerald and J.T, Sebastian, The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama (Broadview Press, 2012) p.392
[4] Clare Wright, ‘Henry Medwall, Fulgens and Lucres’, in The Oxford Handbook of Tudor Drama, eds. Greg Walker and Thomas Betteridge (Oxford University Press, 2013)
[5] Clare Wright, ‘Henry Medwall, Fulgens and Lucres’, in The Oxford Handbook of Tudor Drama, eds. Greg Walker and Thomas Betteridge (Oxford University Press, 2013)
[6] Henry Medwall, Fulgens and Lucres, ed. By C.M, Fitzgerald and J.T, Sebastian, The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama (Broadview Press, 2012) p.393
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Medwall, Henry, Fulgens and Lucres, ed. By Fitzgerald, C.M and Sebastian, J.T., The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama (Broadview Press, 2012) pp 392 – 435
Secondary Sources
‘Economy tracker: Unemployment’, BBC News, 19th February 2014, News Business Section http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10604117 [accessed 26 February 2014]
Fitzgerald, C.M and Sebastian, J.T, eds., The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama (Broadview Press, 2012)
Walker, Greg., Fulgens and Lucres, Medieval Drama: An Anthology (India: Blackwell Publishing, 2000)
Wright, Clare., ‘Henry Medwall, Fulgens and Lucres’, in The Oxford Handbook of Tudor Drama, eds. Walker, Greg and Betteridge, Thomas. (Oxford University Press, 2013) pp 177 – 91