Revels is a play that the junior class puts on for the rest of the school every year on the last day of school before Winter Break. It is set in a medieval era, on the Winter Solstice, when the king requests entertainment before the large royal feast.
The characters in the play include the jester, the royals, Timmy, and the rabblers. The jester will be the comedian who is included in every scene. Within the palace there is a court including a king, queen, princesses, jester, and seneschal. The Lady of Misrule is who the king appointed to entertain the royals and they will be introducing the scenes to the audience. Then there is Timmy, the young boy who gets locked out of the castle. Timmy is often seen with the rabblers who are the poor and hungry people who gather outside of the castle to watch the fun going on inside. They wear brown rags and they wrap themselves in blankets that the princesses gave to them earlier in the evening to keep warm.
Revels begins with a faculty member walking onstage and reciting the poem Shortest Day that kicks off the start of the play. The play follows one story, with a second small plot. The small story is referred to as the play inside the play but is officially called the mummers play. The mummers’ play always follows the same plot which includes St. George, the dragon, the princess, and the king. St. George fights the dragon and saves the princess. The king decides that St. George’s good deed deserves his daughter’s hand in marriage, but St. George refuses. Each year the juniors pick a current event in pop culture to highlight in the play inside the play. Last year the dragon captured Travis Kielce and many Taylor Swift characters (each from a different era) fought to save him.
Another aspect of Revels that changes every year is the dance routines. In past years this included Dance Moms and Pitch Perfect inspired routines.
The story ends with Timmy not making it to the palace in time for the royal feast. He runs from the audience to the stage but does not make it inside the quickly closing doors. Timmy then sings a short song and is seen by someone in the palace who lets him inside which ends the play.
When the play is finished the audience is escorted by bagpipe players to the dining hall where we listen to jokes from the jester and the head of school while eating tradition cake.
Image sources: Adam Richins Photography
Indresh Chandel