Beyond Shakespeare

Exploring: The N-Town Play, a slow burn look at a medieval Mystery (sort of) cycle. The N-Town Play comes to us as a single manuscript, but it's a compilation of various different sources - including elements from what looks like a cycle and various other large scale productions focusing on episodes from the Bible. The journey continues with play nine, the presentation of Mary at the Temple - there's a fair amount of run up to the Nativity in N-Town, and we really get some Mary: The Early Years action - or singing. The Beyond Shakespeare Irregulars this episode were Liz Cole, Mark Scanlon, Richard Fawcett and Alan Scott – with host, Robert Crighton. There are various online and purchasable versions of the text available - here's a good one, but is in the original middle English and might put you off - others should be hunted for to taste. A play text: https://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/sugano-n-town-plays-play-9-presentation-of-mary-in-the-temple The Beyond Shakespeare Podcast is supported by its patrons