Reynard the Fox is in trouble and he may need your help… He’s been playing his tricks on the other animals of the forest and some of them have finally had enough. The result? He’s on trial before King Noble the Lion – on trial for his life!
There are three cases to be heard against the Fox. See what you think - because you are the jury, and in the end it is you who will deliver the verdict on Reynard. Is he guilty? Or innocent? You decide…
The cases will be heard at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm – each lasts around 25 minutes with a short break between each.
- Case the First: Reynard Goes To Church
- Case the Second: Reynard the Doctor
- Case the Third: Reynard and the Chickens
Venue: The Batts, Richmond (Station Bridge end)
Weather Permitting!
The Tales of Reynard the Fox are some of the oldest European stories, and were likely well known in medieval Richmond. Our stories come mainly from Le Roman de Renard, a lengthy collection of stories put together in French by Pierre de St Cloud at the end of the twelfth century – and our third Case also appears in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales as the Nun’s Priest’s Tale.
The stories of Reynard were a vehicle for satire – they happily take the mickey out of kings, barons and even (especially!) the church. There’s lots of contemporary detail in the medieval stories too, and we’ve followed that model with quite a few modern references. We think that it’s more authentic to the spirit of the medieval story that way – after all, an audience has to be able to get the jokes! The Tales are gloriously irreverent and often very rude – but don’t worry, we’ve kept our versions (reasonably) clean…
All the music you will hear in the Tales is medieval, played on authentic instruments.
The Cast
Paul Leigh - Tibert the Cat, a Human. Bagpipes, flutes, percussion
Dan Osbaldeston - Isengrim the Wolf, Primaut the other Wolf, Chanticleer the Cockerel. Percussion
Gill Page - Reynard the Fox, Pertelote the Hen. Percussion. Oh, and she wrote the thing.
Trouvere are based in Richmond. We research and perform medieval music for events and concerts across the UK and further afield, and also run Medieval Music in the Dales, the UK’s only festival of medieval music.
www.medievalminstrels.com
www.medievalmusicinthedales.co.uk
Event date: 25/07/2021 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm