The Purpose of Dramatic Performance in Chester

Graham Jaskula

998909793

ENG331H1S

Prof. Matthew Sergi

Keywords: Chester, Painters Guild, Celebration, Aesthetics, Performance

 The Purpose of Dramatic Performance in Chester

The Play of the Shepherds by the Chester Painters Guild offers a substantially complete picture of the nature of dramatic performance in sixteenth century Chester. The play’s excessive emphasis on feasting and drinking, and its involvement in the Whitsun festivities are instructive of the party-like nature of drama, in the sense that it serves as an excuse for celebration on behalf of the public and the actors. While the play is certainly an excuse for public celebration and festivities, it still maintains another function as an instructive tool, providing the audience with valuable moral lessons. Furthermore, at the most external level, the play is an aesthetic work of art, and there is a sense in which it is designed to be pleasing and simply enjoyed for entertainment’s sake. The performance aspects of the play warrant the sense in which the play serves as an excuse for excessive eating and drinking. These facts are confirmed by evidence retrieved from the Records of Early English Drama.

            Among the more exemplary instances of the festive nature of the play is the seemingly unnecessary feast scene of the three shepherds. Each of the shepherds brings out their own contribution to the meal, and they all indulge whole-heartedly. The records for the Painters guild from the 1568 Whitsun play show that a great deal of the expenses for the play went towards food as props for the performance, as each food item mentioned by the shepherds appears in the expenses (REED, 83). There are multiple receipts for drinks to the players, pots of wine and ale, and other beverages and “celebration” items. Much of the expenses are warranted by their inclusion in the play, but for the most part, these receipts paint a picture of a grand celebration surrounding the play. Out of the total four pounds, two shillings, and six pence spent by the guild, one pound, one shilling, and eleven pence was spent on food and drink (REED, 84). This is a substantial amount of the budget for food and drink alone, which shows that perhaps the performance aspect of the play was secondary to indulging in the festivities. Even having the food props included in the performance itself seem to be a cheeky way of bringing the party inside the play, and giving it a primary role.

            This scene however is crucial to one of the central themes of the play, but this in turn happens to raise even more questions as to the purpose of the play as a whole. The play aims to instruct upon the sin of gluttony, and attempts to steer viewers of the play away from such activities. The shepherds’ servant Trowle is the most prominent voice of reason in the play, albeit an inebriated one. As he stumbles down the hill towards the shepherds, he admonishes them for their indulging and rejection of their shepherdly duties. Trowle wrestles each of the three shepherds and ends up throwing them all (BAMD, 237). The activities of the shepherds are shown in a negative light in this sense; those who act in this way do not come out on top. This being the case, it would appear that the moralizing aspect of the play is undermined by the Painters Guild’s hypocritically indulging with their substantial food and drink expenses for the play, as this is precisely what they attempt to instruct against. But this is only one side of the story, as the end of the play demonstrates. After having received the angel’s song and giving the last of their belongings to the baby Jesus, the shepherds renounce their way of life and vow to change. The play seems to be implying that grace can still be attained by those who coddle, but only through good deeds.

This message relates to another point the play addresses, which helps to shed light on the other side of the story concerning the Painters Guild’s expenditure records. The interactions between Trowle and the shepherds draw heavily on work conditions of the time. Among the more pertinent reasons for Trowle’s admonishing of the shepherds is their stinginess concerning wages:

Therefore meat if I may,

Of your dighting today

Will I nought by no way

        Till I have my wage (BAMD, 236.221)

Trowle refuses to join in their feast as the shepherds have yet to pay him for his work. Although the amount the Painters Guild budgeted towards food and drink was quite high, the amount that was put towards wages for the players, and payment to others for goods and services makes up a substantially greater portion of the total budget. Fifteen shillings and two pence alone was for players’ wages (REED, 83), which is quite fair when considering that food and drink was also provided to the players during the production. The various receipts for services provided by others shows that this play was not simply an excuse for celebration, but was also an economic enterprise creating work for those in the city.

This is compelling evidence to question where the power of the play lies, whether it is in its ability to instruct on virtue, its aesthetic value, or simply as an excuse for celebration. In truth, to limit the play to any one of these qualities is not sufficient, as it accomplishes all three at once. This point made clearer by again turning to the records. One entry reads “item for mending Trowes cote” (REED, 82). This item stands out as in the play itself, Trowle mentions “so ragged is mine array” (BAMD, 236.226) when confronting the shepherds about his lack of pay. If the play were purely an excuse for celebration, the mending of the tattered coat would be of little importance. The inclusion of this expense shows the play is concerned with aesthetics, and how the appearance of the performance affects the event. For this reason as well, the inclusion of real food in the feast scene seems to be warranted. While it certainly adds to the revelry of the event for the players, it also helps to add to the aesthetic and dramatic experience for the audience.

Each of these aspects of the play are dependant on one another, and to try and extract one and claim its precedence over the others would only subtract from the overall value of the play. The party-like atmosphere surrounding the production only adds to the aesthetic of the performance, which in turn allows the audience to become more involved and perhaps take something away from the experience, the hope being it has some lasting moralizing effect. For all these reasons, The Play of the Shepherds is a perfect example of why drama is performed and continues to be a significant form of entertainment.

Works cited

Clopper, Lawrence M. Records of Early English Drama: Chester (REED). Toronto:

University of Toronto, 1979. Print.

"The Chester Play of the Shepherds." The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Drama

(BAMD). Ed. Christina Marie. Fitzgerald and John T. Sebastian. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2013. N. pag. Print.