‘The point is that you can’t be too greedy’
Donald Trump
Introduction
Cast
Everyman, I’ll go with thee, and be thy guide; in thy most need to go, by thy side . This
Hecastus
----------- James Worth
Epicuria, his wife
----------- Isabel Saunders
Philocrates, his son/
Daemones, his friend/
Hieronymus, the priest
----------- Laurence Goodacre
motto, familiar from the first page of all ‘Everyman’ editions of literary classics, borrows a
line from the English medieval morality play The Summoning of Everyman (dating in its
surviving form from the fifteenth century, though performed, in a modern version by Carol
Ann Duffy, as recently as 2015). Hecastus, an allegorical Latin drama written in 1539 by
the Dutch humanist, playwright and schoolmaster Joris van Lanckvelt (1487-1558, known
as ‘Georgius Macropedius’ in Latin) is a version of the same story. Hecastos is Greek for
‘each man’ and his tale is part of a long and still living tradition to which John Bunyan’s
Pilgrim’s Progress, Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, Rudyard Kipling’s poem
‘Tomlinson’, and the film It’s a Wonderful Life all loosely belong. The basic plot is that of a
successful but complacent man of the world who, confronted suddenly by imminent death,
finds that none of what he has valued in life – riches, power, friends and patrons, even his
partner and children – offers him any hope of reprieve, or even loyal companionship in his
final hours. Instead, he must turn to long-neglected Virtue and (in Macropedius’ version)
her younger sister, Faith – the only ‘characters’ in the play who agree to accompany him
to his judgment and who, in the final scene, save his soul from damnation.
Our hero, Hecastus, is rich, thoughtless and self-satisfied, committed to a life of pleasure
and indulgence. As we meet him, he is planning yet another extravagant banquet for that
night – though he hasn’t thought to warn his wife Epicuria or their servants of this plan
until that moment. Macropedius, who uses a refined neo-classical Latin throughout, adds
ancient elements to the medieval basis: the scene (I.iv) in which his wife commissions
Daetrus to go to market and do the best he can with an inadequate budget links the play
with Roman comedy, which is fond of sub-plots involving markets, slaves and minor
swindles – we find the same kind of thing in Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, based on
Plautus’ Menaechmi. Similarly, the choral lyrics between each act rely largely upon
scriptural texts, but chosen and metrically arranged in such a way as to recall classical
models, especially the choruses of Seneca’s Latin tragedies. However, in a striking scene,
the warrant Death brings with him is written in the vernacular – the ordinary speech of the
people – not in a classical language, and as a result Hecastus’ younger son, the
expensively educated Philomathes (the name means ‘a lover of learning’), cannot read it:
his mastery of Latin, Greek, law and medicine has left no room for basic literacy in his own
language.
Whereas ‘Everyman’ wins salvation by means of the sacraments (such as Confession and
the Eucharist, each represented as characters), Macropedius’ play has a more limited cast:
the sacraments are mentioned (V.iv), but not dramatized, and the emphasis rests instead
upon true Faith, who replaces Knowledge (in Everyman) as the younger sister of Virtue.
The play ends, like a comedy, with celebration, reassurance and the promise of a good
meal; but, unlike a comedy, all this is prompted not by a marriage or reconciliation, but by
Hecastus’ death. The combination of the tragic plot with an emotional register typical of
comedy is a vivid demonstration of the religious message of the play: for the faithful
Christian, death is only the beginning of life with Christ, and no tragedy at all.
Dr Victoria Moul (Classics, KCL)
Philomathes, his son/
Panocnus, a servant
----------- David Orellana
Nomodidascalus
----------- Logan Laduke
Oeconomus, the steward/
Faith
----------- Kirsty McKirdy
Philoponus, a servant/
Death
----------- Judith Higman
Chorus/
Virtue
----------- Emmy Callaghan
Wealth/
Satan, the devil
----------- Leah Veronese
Production
Director
----------- Edwina Strobl
Programme and Poster
----------- Anaïs Waag
Latin Coach
----------- Daniel Hadas
Director’s Note
Tonight’s performance of Hecastus speaks to us about the dangers of unchecked greed in
our society. It has been a privilege to explore the language and themes of the medieval
stage through this process. Thanks to the hardworking cast, Daniel Hadas, and King’s
College London for continuing this theatrical tradition.
Acknowledgements
Jessica Butler, Adam Chambers, Caroline Dance, Natalie Frangos, Jacquie Glomski,
Bérénice Guyot-Réchard, Adam Loxley, Lucy Sheaf, Matthew McHaffie, Victoria Moul, Adam
Sutcliffe, Andrew Visnevski, Clare Woolley
Special thanks to King’s College London Chaplaincy for use of the Chapel