DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Messenger
Everyman
The Bomb
Fear
Anger
Hate
Death
Oneself
THE ENEMY OF THE WORLD
MESSENGER I ask that you watch this stage well tonight, For Everyman will begin his fight, Against the villain that he makes his own. This enemy of the world will be known, Not just to our players who grace this space, But all of you who watch will know his face. He sits beside you. He sits behind you. He sits within you. He may even sit as you. The enemy of the world is known to every man. It is for this reason that you must watch well tonight.
Messenger exits. Everyman enters.
EVERYMAN I feel there is a profound evil in the world that needs to be conquered. It is a threat which faces us all. Maybe we are aware of it, maybe we never will be. No single person will be safe until it has been identified and fought. I am prepared to face this enemy and ensure that it threatens mankind no more. I must begin my search immediately. When the time comes I must be ready to fight. I will need all of my strongest and cruellest weapons to defend myself.
Everyman desperately gathers swords, guns, and all manner of weaponry.
EVERYMAN I have all that I can carry and yet I sense that this is still not enough.
Everyman catches sight of himself in a mirror.
EVERYMAN If my enemy uses weaponry of a similar kind, then I will be doomed to die. (turns from mirror) I need something more. I have to be the ultimate fighter. The most powerful. I must be feared by this enemy. Then I will be able to conquer him.
The Bomb, a strong, tall, hulking character enters.
THE BOMB Everyman, you need me.
EVERYMAN (terrified) Who are you?! What can you offer me?
THE BOMB I am The Bomb. I am the ultimate weapon. With me as your companion, you will be feared.
EVERYMAN But what is the extent of your destructive power?
THE BOMB I could obliterate every living thing. Everything would be eliminated.
EVERYMAN Then you are fearful indeed.
THE BOMB Correct. And the panic and hysteria that I can create is ultimately my greatest power. Your enemy will fear our companionship more than any other.
EVERYMAN But so much fear could also lead to great anger.
THE BOMB Correct. And in that anger and rage and hatred, I will also become a companion to the enemy of Everyman.
EVERYMAN So you would then become my ally… and my enemy?
THE BOMB Correct.
EVERYMAN Then you are not the weapon or the power which I seek. You may even be the enemy, the great evil which I need to fight.
THE BOMB Incorrect. That which summons my power is the greater evil. That which has so much fear, so much anger and so much hatred. That is who you must fight.
EVERYMAN Leave this place. And never return. I must fight those things which could bring about such terrible destruction.
The Bomb exits.
Discussion:
The Enemy of The World is a morality play that explores the question of who or what is the greatest threat or danger to humanity in modern times. The story follows the character of Everyman as he takes on the challenge to find and exterminate his greatest enemy. As with the original fifteenth century morality play of Everyman, the central character of Everyman is an allegorical representation of the whole of humanity who are united together in having one common adversary. Indeed, The Enemy of The World is an attempt to reproduce the ‘classical simplicity of the action’ in Everyman with the ‘concreteness of the allegorical figures’[1] which feature in the play. As such each of the vices that Everyman faces in his quest to fight the one ultimate evil is simply a character named after what they are intended to represent. For example, the first vice that Everyman faces in this play is called The Bomb. This character is intended to represent nuclear weaponry and the threat it poses to mankind. Everyman and The Bomb discuss the potential fear that this could generate, and how this fear would become a powerful weapon in itself. Everyman eventually dismisses The Bomb as potentially being a good ally in his fight but also dismisses him as the ultimate evil which he seeks as there is always something or someone else responsible for it.
Everyman faces other characters who represent vices such as Fear, Anger, Hate, and Death. All of these present a challenge to Everyman’s well-being but ultimately he discovers that all of these evil characters are under the control and responsibility of one character called Oneself. Oneself is an exact clone of Everyman, symbolising that the greatest enemy to humanity is in fact all of the vices that exist within ourselves. It is therefore a moral message that humanity is its own worst enemy.
This moral message was inspired by an allegorical television series from 1967 called The Prisoner , which was created by Patrick McGoohan. The main character of the series is known only as Number 6 and can also be seen as a modern representation of the Everyman character. Number 6 attempts to discover the identity of his captor, Number 1, throughout the series, only to discover that Number 1 is an exact clone of himself. In an interview from the 1970s, Patrick McGoohan explains the reasoning behind this: ‘it was about the most evil human “being”, human “essence”; and that is ourselves, because within each of us, that is the most dangerous thing on Earth, is what is within us.’ [2] It was this, therefore, that inspired the idea that in The Enemy of the World Everyman would face himself as his own ultimate enemy. The moral teaching of this play is therefore to conquer all the vices and immorality which generate from ourselves, rather than fighting others.
In terms of performance, The Enemy of the World, despite being concerned with some modern issues,would be presented in much the same way as a morality play of the fifteenth century but in a modern theatre. The characterisation of the vices would be one-dimensional much like the characterisation of characters in Everyman. For example, the character of Fear would be cowardly, snivelling and crouched over. Fear would be played by a small, thin actor and wearing only rags in order to show his vulnerability.
The Messenger character in particular borrows from the traditions of medieval drama as he introduces the play. As this is such an iconic part of the morality play, part of this prologue has been written in iambic pentameter. The messenger at the beginning of Everyman draws in the attention of the audience by saying, ‘I pray you all give your audience, | And hear this matter with reverence’.[3] This suggests that the play is a warning to them and they must listen. The Enemy of the World opens in a similar manner in order to inform them that this play is something relevant and affecting every audience member.
In terms of staging and design, The Enemy of The World would be staged in a theatre or studio space. The stage itself would be empty for the most part, leaving a black space which enables the audience to focus solely on the characters and the message of the play. This would also reflect the limited use of scenery in medieval drama. The only permanent piece of scenery on the stage would be a full length mirror symbolising the fact that Everyman’s own worst enemy is a reflection of himself. The play would be staged predominantly downstage so that a clear communication can be made with the audience. Indeed, later on in the play Everyman would address his dilemma and struggle to the audience in the form of soliloquies.
The Enemy of The World therefore follows the form of the traditional medieval morality play in many ways. It tries to teach a moral to its audience in the form of a simple allegorical narrative which shows Everyman facing many vices in order to find the ultimate evil to humanity. These characters are presented with simplistic characterisation much like those seen in Everyman so that they are relatable to the entire audience. Indeed, the theme itself is something that is universal to the audience. The secular nature of the play and its concern with the threat of nuclear armament makes it suitable and relatable to a modern audience in the same way that the television series The Prisoner also manages well. Performing The Enemy of The World in a contemporary theatre is also an attempt to bring moral teaching to a modern audience in a secular setting.
Endnotes
[1] A. C. Cawley, Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays (London: Everyman Paperback Classics, 1993), p. 195
[2] theprisonertv, 2009. The Prisoner Mike Smith interviews Patrick McGoohan available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhlS6kNT0pI [Accessed 25/02/2014]
[3] ‘Everyman’ in Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays ed. by A. C. Cawley (London: Everyman Paperback Classics, 1993) pp.199-225 (p. 199, ll.1-2)
Bibliography
Cawley, A.C, Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays (London: Everyman Paperback Classics, 1993)
theprisonertv, 2009. The Prisoner Mike Smith interviews Patrick McGoohan available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhlS6kNT0pI [Accessed 25/02/2014]