ENGLISH HISTORY

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 8, 10 July 1939, Page 16

ENGLISH HISTORY

REVEALED IN PAGEANT

PRESENTATION THIS MONTH

A hundred miles from London, conveniently situated in the heart of the "Shakespeare Country." lies the Kenil worth Castle of Sir Walter Scott's novel, says a writer in the "New York.Times." The traveller to this part of pastoral England witlv its cool green fields may see the Pageant of Kenilworth taking place there from July 8 to 15 this summer. Under the patronage of the-Duke of Kent more than 2000 performers will unfold a spectacle of the Middle Ages. Ferocity, reverence, comedy, tragedy, and a gripping story of love and a woman's faith—all of these are promised. « The Earl of Leicester, Simon de Montfort, regarded by many as the father of the House of Commons, together with his man-at-arms will ride swiftly out to battle. The castle will be besieged and the assailants be driven off. The garrison will be betrayed by a woman in love, but when the. castle gate;, close she will oe outside. Knights of the Round Table will dance.arid feast with their ladies; they will joust and duel to test each other's strength and skill. The shuddering terrors of witchcraft are driven out and defeated in the re-enactment of the trial of Eleanor Cobham, Duchess of Gloucester. King Edward II is seen as a humiliated and dethroned ruler. Gargantuan Fa lstaff sweeps in. and out of the picture with unexpected gusto. Henry V places his mighty kingdom at the feet of Katherine of France. The stately Queen Elizabeth throws a party m 1575, and those fortunate/ in 1939 attend. Soon Cromwellian Roundheads encircle the walls, laying low for ever the glory of the castle. A COUNTY OF TRADITION. The previous Pageant of Kenilworth Castle was held in 1906, under the direction of Louis N. Parker. The coming pageant will be held under the direction of his grandson, Alfred I Parker, an actor and a producer of: some experience. Warwickshire, ip which Kenilworth: Castle' is situated, is a county of crowded history and traditions. In this pageant the pages of that history will] be turned back, and, the splendour of I the past. unfurled. | Just wh«t- the English mean by a pageartt can best be explained by a quotation from Louis N. Parker's autobiography: "A Pageant is a Festival of Thanksgiving in which a historic place celebrates its glorious past. It reminds th old of the history of their countryside, and shows the young what treasures are in their keeping. It is the greatest incentive to the right kind of patriotism; love of hearth, love of town, love of county; love of England." The pageant wiir be composed of twelve episode^ each of which will be a complete little play in itself lasting not more than fifteen minutes. Linked together by dignified, stately music, the episodes are explained and described by an all-male singing group, called the Narrative chorus, whose verse lends meaning to the events portrayed. " The musical background is supplied by a complete symphony orchestra. .. I