LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE MIRACLE PLAY IN WORCESTERSHIRE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SI11,-I was one of the small number of persons, outside the inhabitants of the village, present at the first representation of the so-called " Miracle Play " at Ronslench, near Pershore, in Worcestershire, and I think you may find the following par- ticulars interesting.
The performance differed from that at Ober-Ammergau in- asmuch as it only consisted of tableaux vivants, no action or speaking being used by the performers. There was a chorus (ten in number), very fantastically dressed in white, with coloured sashes, bands round the hair. The Rector of the parish (promoter of the scheme) was leader of the chorus, which entered before the various tableaux, and explained by singing or reading from the Bible the meaning of each tableau. With the chorus, the whole number of people taking part was fifty; one was aged four, one eighty-two. They were all drawn from the village. At the commencement, a prologue was read by the choragus, explaining the nature of the perform- ance, and defending it from hostile critics. The tableaux were to illustrate the events in the Bible incidental to the Incarna- tion, but some were allegorical, and one purely legendary. In the final scenes, our Lord is represented by a boy, in the early ones by a waxen effigy; and here exception might be taken to the very black, thick, curling hair. The part was sufficiently well rendered in the final scenes. The first scene is the expulsion from Paradise, a most effective situation; the angel Gabriel holds a flaming sword, and Adam and Eve, dressed in skins, are about to take the path of exile. The part of the angel was wonderfully taken all through ; the second scene was an alle- gorical one, representing people of all nations and ages worship- ping the Cross. The costumes here were very good. There is an African slave, Christian (from the " Pilgrim's Progress ") and a number of little children, led by angels, among the worshippers. Next is the Annunciation, the angel appearing to the Virgin Mary in her simple home. The next tableau was a legendary one derived from the " Golden Legend," in which the Emperor Octavian, who had been offered worship as a god by the Roman people, is represented asking advice from the Sibyl on the Capitoline Hill. She points out to him a sun, in the midst of which is a woman, with a man-child in her arms. The Emperor and prophetess are represented in the conven- tional costumes. The next tableaux are the visit of the angel to Joseph, the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, the stable at Bethlehem, the angel appearing to the shepherds, the visits of the Magi, and the presentation of Christ in the Temple. The meeting of Mary and Elizabeth is very simple and affecting,—the extreme youth of one, and the great age of the other. They are in the act of greeting one another. The visit of the Magi was a strong contrast to this tableau, very rich dresses, splendid gifts, and an overpowering smell of incense being employed. The Wise Men are accompanied by black negro slaves, carrying the treasure. The presentation of Christ was an interesting scene, Simeon and Anna being represented by an old man and his wife from the village (the latter aged eighty-two). During this, "Nuns dimittis " was chanted. In the next tableau (the first in which Christ is represented by a living person), we have the Doctors arguing in the Temple, and Mary and Joseph find Christ among them. There is a very striking, argumentative look in the faces and attitudes of all the Doctors, who are dressed sombrely in black, with the high priest standing beside. We now come to an allegorical scene ; it represents Joseph's carpentering-shop at Nazareth, where Jesus and John the Baptist are helping Joseph, and Mary and Elizabeth are together in the back-ground. Christ has wounded his hands and feet while at work, and John runs to his assistance with a bowl of water. This tableau, I know, has found a good many adverse critics. The last tableau is a sort of finale, in which every one comes on, Christ being in the centre, while over him the angel Gabriel holds a golden crown. Adam and Eve stand most remote from him in this scene, and all the characters, as it were, in order of precedence.
Very few people were present at any of the performances, except the poor people in the neighbouring parishes. Though the performances met with a good deal of opposition, it wore away with every one, after being spectators.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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