House of Revels Theatre Through the Ages

The origin of the Holy Cross, audience immersion and permenant outdoor theatre structures - the Middle Cornish Mystery Plays had it all!
Following on from Episode 14 (English Mystery Plays) we explore the wonderful theatre style that is Cornish Mystery Plays. Three Cornish mystery plays survive and together form the Ordinalia, which would have been performed across three consectutive days across medieval Cornwall. As well as exploring the elaborate and exciting staging of these Middle Cornish plays, we dive into the context of their origin, the decline of Cornish as a language and the imposition of English culture on Cornwall. PLUS where and when you can see the Ordinalia performed!  House of Revels roadtrip anyone?
We've reached the end of the first series of House of Revels! 15 magnificient and theatre history filled episodes. We'll be back very soon with series 2 but in the meantime get in touch with us! Is there something you think we should cover? A specific regional theatre practice or perhaps an obscure litergical drama? 
Join the revelry! We are on Instagram: @house_of_revels and Twitter, Youtube and  Facebook as @houseofrevels! Of course, you can email us at  houseofrevelspodcast@gmail.com! We'll also be posting regular updates, shout outs and fun facts on the House of Revels social channels, so follow us to stay up to date! 

It’s time to get mysterious... or is it? In episode 14 we explore the English Mystery Plays (also known as Mystery Cycles or Corpus Christi Plays). These plays portrayed the various biblical stories and were popular all over England (and Europe). We explore the extensive staging and prop usage in these plays (did someone say fire?) and learn about the elusive Wakefield Master. A new theatre style, a new set of plays... but will it join the House of Revels? Do you agree or disagree with our analysis and final decision? Join the revelry! We are on Instagram: @house_of_revels and Twitter, Youtube and Facebook as @houseofrevels! Of course, you can email us at houseofrevelspodcast@gmail.com!

Episode 13 of House of Revels is here! In this episode we dive into the oldest play in the English vernacular (no more Latin, yay!). We examine what remains of the Student and the Girl and try to piece together the story from missing scenes. We explore the hierarchy of mintrels in Europe and why French minstrels were paid so much more than English minstrels!
Comic Fabliau is bawdy and full of puns and rhyming... but is that enough to grant it access into the House of Revels?
Have you got some fabliauous fun facts to share? Join the revelry! We are on Instagram: @house_of_revels and Twitter, Youtube and Facebook as @houseofrevels! Of course, you can email us at houseofrevelspodcast@gmail.com!

The Feast of Fools...a day full of chaos, riots and japes...or was it? The Catholic Church has many”feast days” - celebrations of saints or special events in the liturgy (St Patrick’s Day, St Stephen’s Day, St Valentine’s Day). In this episode, we examine one of the most notorious feast days, the Feast of Fools. Made famous by Victor Hugo (and Disney) in The Hunchback of Norte Dame, the Feast of Fools is commonly understood to be a day where roles were reversed, people drank excessively and there were wild parties in the streets - all in celebration of being foolish. But is our perception of the Feast of Fools actually true? We look at some of the events associated with the feast, the controversy it caused and two plays that resulted from it (yes, actual theatre!) Have you got a Topsy Turvy story to share? Maybe a fun feast day fact? Join the revelry! We are on Instagram:@house_of_revels, or YouTube, Facebook and Twitter as @houseofrevels! Emails us at houseofrevelspodcast@gmail.com

Come one, come all and hear stories of the miraculous! 
Dragons, castles, fires and horses in men's shoes... episode 11 has it all! We explore the English and French miracle plays; plays about the lives and miracles of the saints of the Catholic Church. We delve into the context of the cult of saints and explore the connection between dragons, virgins and childbirth. We discover the author of the first (recorded) English miracle play, Geoffrey of Dunstable, and his burnt copes! During our exploration of The Mary Magdalene Digby Play, Olivia surprises us with some (seriously impressive and fun) miracle play staging facts. But just how popular were the plays of saints lives? Why did they stop?Olivia had such a strong gut reaction to this theatre style - have you ever responded in such an instinctive way to a piece of theatre? 
Have you got something to share about miracle plays? Join the revelry! We are Instagram: @house_of_revels, or Youtube, Facebook and Twitter as @houseofrevels! Email us at houseofrevelspodcast@gmail.com

Rebel youths, castration, celebrity tell-it-all autobiographies... the 12th and 13th century had it all! The failed crusades, the murder of Thomas Becket and greed within the Catholic Church caused a group of men to become disillusioned with the Catholic Church (and the status quo of life in general). Educated by the newly formed universities of Western Europe, notably the University of Paris and the University of Oxford, they put pen to paper and wrote scathing, angsty and satirical poetry. They became known as goliards (possible named so because of the bishop of their fictional order, Bishop Golias). The Church wasn't the only subject of their poetry and they also wrote many poems about drinking, sex and gambling (surprise, surprise). We explore these 'bad boy' goliards in more detail as well as their supposed influencer Pierre Abelard. We discover their legacy and learn about a VERY famous goliard poem - that you'll definately have heard! 
A new style of poetry, a new group of performers and a final question - will goliards make it into the House of Revels? Links mentioned in episode: https://youtu.be/EJC-_j3SnXk
As ever, we'd love to hear your thoughts! Do you have more information about goliards? Do you disagree with our decision? Join the revelry! We are on Instagram: @house_of_revels, Youtube, Facebook and Twitter: @houseofrevels or you can drop us a line at houseofrevelspodcast@gmail.com