Joel look again at all the characters after the 'scratch' production of the three plays in October 2011 (High Table, The Recluse and St Frideswide).
The two men, Gary, to be played by Kyran Pritchard, and Dan (Alex Babic) have now developed so that sympathy can be more evenly spread, and the play has a better balance, while Marie (Lucy Walters) retains a kind of commentator role, at the same time being a real character with a strong voice.
Of the three, Kyran Pritchard is perhaps the best known to those who have been to Almost Random Theatre shows.
There is an interview with Kyran below - he appears after 7.25
Please visit the Oxford Trilogy page here and BUY TICKETS to see the show
Key aspects
Earlier I hinted at the new play by Joel Kaye:
Grab your chance to see it - you can book it here.... and you can visit the Facebook page here....
So what do we know about the play?
1. It is a piece of the modern world with mobile phones much in evidence
2. Transcontinental air flight being part of the story
3. The homeless people of present day Oxford playing an important part in it.
The thrust of the play?
Saintliness, or idealism isn't that easy to live with
Well worth going to see!
'St Frideswide Cures the Blind'
Grab your chance to see it - you can book it here.... and you can visit the Facebook page here....
So what do we know about the play?
1. It is a piece of the modern world with mobile phones much in evidence
2. Transcontinental air flight being part of the story
3. The homeless people of present day Oxford playing an important part in it.
The thrust of the play?
Saintliness, or idealism isn't that easy to live with
Well worth going to see!
A Hidden Church Near Oxford
A hidden church near Oxford
Yesterday I reviewed Michael McCay's Hidden Treasures of England, a book filled with wonderful places that most people miss. Here's one McCay missed.
Not far from the popular destination of Oxford is the little hamlet of Binsey and its historic St. Margaret's Church.
St. Margaret's is reputedly founded on the spot where St. Frideswide (pictured here) built an oratory in the seventh century. The holy woman fled Oxford to Binsey to escape a local prince who wanted to marry her. As punishment for his lust, the prince was blinded by lightning, but the forgiving yet still chaste St. Frideswide cured him with water from a holy well that miraculously opened up from the ground after she prayed to St. Margaret of Antioch.
The well is still there today and attracts people who pray for help, especially cures to blindness. This tradition may even be older than St. Frideswide, because many holy wells in England were actually pagan holy spots before being taken over by the new faith. In the nineteenth century Lewis Carroll visited the spot and used it as inspiration for his "treacle well" in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He was making a play on words. In his day treacle was a syrup, but in Saxon times it meant "a healing fluid."
Gallery:St. Margaret's, Binsey
The Saxon church of St. Frideswide's day is long gone, replaced with a modest but beautiful 13th century building. There are some well preserved Gothic features such as the arch and the carved doorway, and a rare trussed rafter roof made with no nails.
Although it's one of the most historic churches in Oxfordshire, St. Margaret's is desperately in need of money for repairs and upkeep. The Church of England is feeling the pinch and smaller churches like this one are struggling to keep open. They are taking donations at their website and you can always drop some coins in the donation box at the church. A building with this much history deserves to stay open.
The church and its well make for a fine half-day excursion from Oxford. It's only about three miles from downtown and much of the walk is through serene countryside. A map is available on the website. As you pass through the village of Binsey, you might want to stop by The Perch, a relaxing pub with a big garden. It's tradition to stop at a pub during an English country walk, and you wouldn't want to break with tradition, would you?
Of course, there is a play coming soon, about St Frideswide. It's written by Joel Kaye and it is one of three plays 'The Oxford Trilogy'.
Buy tickets; see the play.
THE STORY OF ST FRIDESWIDE
THE STORY OF ST FRIDESWIDE
Born about 680, the daughter of a Christian nobleman, Frideswide was pursued by the Mercian prince, Algar, who wished to marry her, but she escaped to Binsey, where she worked for three years as a swineherd. Meanwhile, Algar, in search of her, was blinded by lightning. Frideswide cured his blindness by water from St Margaret's Well, which she caused to appear close to the west end of the church by praying to St Margaret of Antioch. In medieval times, "treacle" meant "a healing fluid", and Lewis Carroll referred to it as a "treacle well" in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
THE FIRST CHURCH
The present church was built on the site of a Saxon church associated with the well, which was a place of pilgrimage for many centuries. Henry VIII is known to have visited. We are told that "the very pavement was worn away by the knees of the pilgrims", and the restored cripples hung up their crutches within the church to testify to their cure.
By the 12th century Binsey had come under the priory of St Frideswide, based around the present cathedral in Christ Church.
The earliest datable stonework in the church today is the fine Norman arch of the south door, with its zig-zag pattern overlapping a round moulding, some dogs-tooth work and columns with carved capitals. The style of the doorway suggests a late 12th century date. The lead-lined font-bowl in the nave may also be of this period.
Source: http://www.achurchnearyou.com/binsey-st-margaret/history-of-the-church-part-1.html
'St Frideswide cures the blind' is the title of a new play by Joel Kaye.
Who is Joel Kaye?
Well, you can have a read of several of his one minute plays here.....
Also, why not go along and see the THREE plays - 'The Oxford Trilogy'. Details are here
Also visit the Oxford Trilogy Blogspot (and it's linked to at the side of this blog)
Born about 680, the daughter of a Christian nobleman, Frideswide was pursued by the Mercian prince, Algar, who wished to marry her, but she escaped to Binsey, where she worked for three years as a swineherd. Meanwhile, Algar, in search of her, was blinded by lightning. Frideswide cured his blindness by water from St Margaret's Well, which she caused to appear close to the west end of the church by praying to St Margaret of Antioch. In medieval times, "treacle" meant "a healing fluid", and Lewis Carroll referred to it as a "treacle well" in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
THE FIRST CHURCH
The present church was built on the site of a Saxon church associated with the well, which was a place of pilgrimage for many centuries. Henry VIII is known to have visited. We are told that "the very pavement was worn away by the knees of the pilgrims", and the restored cripples hung up their crutches within the church to testify to their cure.
By the 12th century Binsey had come under the priory of St Frideswide, based around the present cathedral in Christ Church.
The earliest datable stonework in the church today is the fine Norman arch of the south door, with its zig-zag pattern overlapping a round moulding, some dogs-tooth work and columns with carved capitals. The style of the doorway suggests a late 12th century date. The lead-lined font-bowl in the nave may also be of this period.
Source: http://www.achurchnearyou.com/binsey-st-margaret/history-of-the-church-part-1.html
'St Frideswide cures the blind' is the title of a new play by Joel Kaye.
Who is Joel Kaye?
Well, you can have a read of several of his one minute plays here.....
Also, why not go along and see the THREE plays - 'The Oxford Trilogy'. Details are here
Also visit the Oxford Trilogy Blogspot (and it's linked to at the side of this blog)
Saints Alive!
Welcome to the blog about Saints - in particular St Frideswide the patron saint of Oxford.
According to this....
"Two twelfth-century Latin manuscripts (edited by John Blair)[4] present two Middle English accounts of the Life of Saint Frithuswith, which are included in the South English Legendary.[5] Both accounts differ slightly in their story. The shorter tale recounts that Frithuswith was born to Didan (an Anglo-Saxon sub-king) and his wife Safrida around AD650. With the help of her father, Frithuswith founded a priory (St Frideswide's Priory) while still young, but even though Fritheswith was bound to celibacy, Algar (that is, Æthelbald), aMercian king, sought to marry her. When Frithuswith refused him, Algar tried to abduct her.
According to this....
"Two twelfth-century Latin manuscripts (edited by John Blair)[4] present two Middle English accounts of the Life of Saint Frithuswith, which are included in the South English Legendary.[5] Both accounts differ slightly in their story. The shorter tale recounts that Frithuswith was born to Didan (an Anglo-Saxon sub-king) and his wife Safrida around AD650. With the help of her father, Frithuswith founded a priory (St Frideswide's Priory) while still young, but even though Fritheswith was bound to celibacy, Algar (that is, Æthelbald), aMercian king, sought to marry her. When Frithuswith refused him, Algar tried to abduct her.
A longer tale is attributed to Robert of Crickdale, then prior of Oxford, and was later recorded by William of Malmsbury.[3] According to this account (recorded in the South English Legendary), Fritheswith flees to Oxford. There she finds a ship sent by God which takes her to Bampton. Meanwhile the King searches for her in Oxford, but the people refuse to tell him where she is. When he has searched the whole town but cannot find her, he becomes blind.[6] In the shorter version, Frithuswith hides in a forest outside Oxford, but when Algar comes to look for her, she sneaks back into the town. The king follows her, but just outside the Oxford city gates he falls off his horse and breaks his neck.[7]
In the longer life, the nuns in Binsey complain of having to fetch water from the distant River Thames, so Frideswide prays to God and a well springs up. The well water has healing properties and many people come to seek it out. This well can still be found today at the Church of St Margaret in Binsey, a few miles upriver from Oxford."
In fact,, on the subject of blindness there is a play coming up very soon called 'St Frideswide cures the blind' by Joel Kaye - more on that later.
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