the knight of the burning pestle - julie bozza · 2017. 4. 17. · the knight of the burning pestle...
Post on 08-Mar-2021
1 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
The Knight of the Burning Pestle Full of Mirth & Delight
by Francis Beaumont
1 - 21 December 2016 #KBP
Francis Beaumont, playwright Francis Beaumont was born in 1584 at the
family seat of Grace Dieu in Leicestershire.
His father was Sir Francis Beaumont, a justice
in the Court of Common Pleas, and his
mother was Anne, daughter of Sir George
Pierrepont. The older Sir Francis died in 1598.
After his father’s death, Beaumont decided
on a legal career, and entered the Inner
Temple, one of the four Inns of Court in
London, in 1600.
Beaumont was soon caught up in the poetical
and theatrical world in London, however,
learning his craft from Ben Jonson and others. Beaumont’s first poem, Salmacis
and Hermaphroditus, was published in 1602, when Beaumont was 18.
We often think of ‘Beaumont and Fletcher’ in the same breath. Beaumont’s
collaboration with John Fletcher dates to around 1605. It was long thought that
the pair were responsible for The Knight of
the Burning Pestle, but it has since been
attributed to Beaumont alone. Their first real
success was the co-written Philaster in 1609,
performed by the King’s Men at the Globe
and Blackfriars. The pair lived together in
Southwark.
In 1613, Beaumont married the heiress
Ursula Isley, and they had two daughters.
Sadly, however, Beaumont suffered a stroke
in 1613, and wrote no more plays. He died in
1616 – the same year as Shakespeare, though
Beaumont was 20 years younger – and was
buried in Westminster Abbey.
The Knight of the Burning Pestle The Knight of the Burning Pestle was first performed in 1607 at the Blackfriars
indoor theatre, by a troop of child actors – and it was considered such a failure
that it closed after one performance. There were no further productions during
Beaumont’s lifetime.
The play was printed in 1613 by Walter Burre, who attributed the performance
failure to the audience not recognising Beaumont’s ironic intent. Beaumont
probably felt confident of his audience at the time, as many audience members
were drawn from the nearby Inns of Court and had a history of performing their
own satires. Perhaps, however, they themselves felt satirised…? There is an
emphasis on monetary transactions in the play, and on a sense of unearned
entitlement, which may have offended more than just the newly wealthy,
middle-class merchants represented by the Grocer and his wife.
Featuring two plays within a play was unique to Beaumont, as well as the way
he wrote the interludes and act breaks into the play itself. Other aspects of the
play were already familiar, though, including actors being part of the audience,
and lowly apprentices transforming into knights errant. The play seems
surprisingly post-modern to us, but it wasn’t wholly new in early-modern times.
There is a chance the failure was due to a poor performance. Given a longer
run, perhaps both actors and audience could have settled in more comfortably.
The Knight of the Burning Pestle was a contemporary of the novel Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes, which Beaumont may have read in a translated
manuscript circulating in 1607. Burre claims that the play was conceived and
written in only eight days, which to this writer suggests Beaumont might have
heard about the ‘mad’ knight of la Mancha – perhaps via Jonson – and been
swept away by inspiration.
The play was revived in 1635 by the Queen’s Men, and performed a few times
before the Interregnum. It was revived again after the Restoration, and was
even given a new poetic Prologue spoken by Nell Gwyn!
Modern productions began in 1898 with a group of Yale University students of
Jacobean drama, and it has been popular with college students ever since.
The Main Characters
Georgiana citizen of London and grocer
Nell wife to Georgiana
Rafe apprentice grocer and sometime
Knight of the Burning Pestle
played by Dale
Luce daughter to Venturewell
played by Verity
Humphrey friend to Venturewell and suitor for Luce
played by Jeremy
a Celebrity
Jasper apprentice to Venturewell
played by Topher
The Speakers' Names Georgiana, citizen of London and grocer
Nell, wife to Georgiana
Rafe, apprentice grocer and sometime Knight of the Burning Pestle;
played by Dale
The London Merchant Sam, who speaks the prologue, dances and sings
Venturewell, merchant
Jasper, apprentice to Venturewell;
played by Topher
Luce, daughter to Venturewell;
played by Verity
Humphrey, friend to Venturewell and suitor for Luce;
played by Jeremy, a Celebrity
Mistress Merrythought, mother to Jasper
Michael, younger brother of Jasper
Old Master Merrythought, father to Jasper
The Knight of the Burning Pestle Tim, a squire
Frank, a dwarf
Sundry others, including: a tapster; a host; a barber; a messenger;
various serving boys; four men to carry a coffin
And featuring: Pompiona, daughter to the King of Moldavia
List of Scenes Backstage The London
Merchant The Knight of the Burning Pestle
Half and Quarter Calls Induction: Prologue
Tiring House Act One:
Venturewell’s House;
Merrythought’s House
Grocer’s Shop
Interlude 1
Green Room;
Tiring House
Act Two:
Venturewell’s House;
Waltham Forest;
Merrythought’s House
Waltham Forest;
Bell Inn
Interlude 2: Privy Break
Service Yard;
Tiring House
Act Three:
Waltham Forest;
Merrythought’s House
Bell Inn;
Barber’s Shop
Men’s Dressing Room Interlude 3
Act Four: London;
Venturewell’s House;
Merrythought’s House
King of Moldavia’s
Court
Corridor Interlude 4 May Day
Act Five:
Venturewell’s House;
Merrythought’s House
Moorfields
Epilogue; Exeunt
The Jig
Backstage and Beyond Finis
top related