In the week before Easter Sunday, I’ve already taken a trip to Hadestown on Broadway. I followed that plunge with another descent into the underworld. The Harrowing of Hell is a play from the 13th century which has been adapted and modernized by director Dr. Jeff S. Dailey. One of the first English language plays, its creation is unknown. Found in three surviving medieval manuscripts, this work was likely a popular mystery play. In the Middle Ages, Bible stories with accompanying music were an early form of theater performed in traveling pageants and churches. (I’ll rebrand my blog Theater Reviews From My Pew to accommodate this particular entry.)
For this production, four distinct works are performed, the last of which is The Harrowing of Hell. Period music separates each section which creates a contemplative feeling. Given my love of all things medieval AND this week’s final season premiere of Game of Thrones, I decided to try a theater company I have never seen before.
The Fall of the Angels is the first play presented. Dating from the 14th century, this story is part of the York Corpus Christi cycle of 48 mystery plays covering sacred history. The text used here is a modernization of the original from the 20th century. This selection conveys the creation of the world and the fall of Lucifer. From high up on the stage, God condemns him with a cleverly simple effect of tossing a red sheet down upon his body.
Written by an African American in 1907, a poem entitled The Soliloquy of Satan, is performed next. Satan (Christopher Yoo) tells the story of his fall from heaven. The ensemble play demons, tortured souls and heavenly spirits.
Selections from the 2nd Century Gospel of Nicodemus describe the Harrowing of Hell. On the night of Good Friday, Jesus broke down the gates of Hell to rescue the prophets and patriarchs imprisoned there. The ensemble are monks outfitted in red robes as they recite quotations dating from a 19th century translation.
The fourth and final scene has Jesus (Benjamin Beruh) triumphantly descending into hell between his crucifixion and his resurrection. Salvation has been brought to all the righteous since the beginning of the world. That’s all the way back to a leaf wearing Adam and Eve.
In Middle English, the play’s opening lines are: Alle herkneth to nou/ A strif wolle y tellen ou/ Of Jhesu ant of Sathan,-/ Tho Jhesu wes to helle y-gan/ Forte vachhe thenne hys,/ Ant bringen hem to parays. The rhyming scheme is typical of this period. For this production, the lines are translated to: All hear harken to me now/ A contest will I now avow/ Between Jesus and of Satan,/ When Jesus down to Hell’s gate ran/ To find his comrades in a trice/ And bring them back to paradise.
Connor Chaney played God in the first section and performed the prologue and epilogue in The Harrowing of Hell. His performance was big and very enjoyable. The exaggerating gestures and booming vocals felt appropriate to a religious story meant to inspire and, likely, frighten uneducated souls during the Dark Ages. Mr. Yoo’s masked Satan was fun and Mr. Beruh’s Jesus was calmly heroic.
I appreciated the opportunity to experience this historical artifact as an intellectual curiosity. The production, however, is very off-off Broadway. The actors are quite young and, in a few cases, their inexperience shows. (Did I see stage fright?) With a shoestring budget Terry Prideaux’s all black set construction framing the burning fires of hell accomplished an appropriate mood.