Solstice
Midsummer York Mysteries at the RSC
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On the pagan festival of the solstice, Judas and Eve watch the world below them and try to forgive themselves and each other.
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'Solstice' was commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company as a respose to Katie Mitchell's production of the York Mysteries in Stratford. Anthony Neilson and Aiden Healey also wrote companion pieces.
Two things struck me about Edward Kemp's 'Mysteries' text. One was the denial of hell (and the translation of the concept of heaven into paradise/ the garden). The other was the way Judas and Eve are condemned by predestination. After death they would have nowhere to go and would feel pretty aggrieved, I thought.
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'Solstice' was performed on the 1997 solstice at The Other Place, Stratford. Directed by Myra McFadyen, with Josette Bushell-Mingo.
