Writing for the Mediaeval Play, "Ye Good Old Bard"

For the final course project, I opted to attempt to write a play. Inspired by the “twisted fairytale” sub-genre, I opted to create a narrative where classic medieval folklore was presented as more than meets the eye. This story was ultimately a lighthearted farce-comedy about staying true to yourself , the realization of self-worth, and not giving in to societal expectations. The play explores medieval culture presented throughout the course and plays with it, addressing very real societal and gender roles, while still having fun with elements like a meta-production of the entire cast as drunken tavern-goers, as would be the norm for a medieval street-play. The squire does things like being given a quest from a king, getting advice from a tavern-goer, facing a dragon and troll and meeting a fairy, all in pursuit of “knighthood and glory”. All of these creatures were explored beyond their caricatures, giving them and the knight more character development, like the “noble” king being an absolute wet napkin, the tavern-obtained sword and shield being poor quality, the dragon and troll being nuanced and complex characters, and the fairy being malevolent rather than sweet and kind.
Weeks of drafts for the script followed, and many late night writing sessions birthed an 18-page long 6 act script, and a project that had snowballed into costumes, sets, sound, rehearsals in a stairwell, and so many talented actors and contributors. My theater experience came in handy, and I found myself the narrator or bard, very often the catalyst to progression of events in the ase of a mishap, and producer and director of the production, lovingly monikered “Ye Goode Olde Barde”, after the titular character in the play.

Eesha Rehman