توضیحات
Murder in the Cathedral is a verse drama by T. S. Eliot, first performed in 1935 (published the same year). The play Murder in the Cathedral portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral during the reign of Henry II in 1170. Eliot drew heavily on the writing of Edward Grim, a clerk who was an eyewitness to the event. Some material that the producer asked Eliot to remove or replace during the writing was transformed into the poem “Burnt Norton“.
Plot
The action occurs between 2 and 29 December 1170, chronicling the days leading up to the martyrdom of Thomas Becket following his absence of seven years in France. Becket’s internal struggle is a central focus of the play. The book is divided into two parts. Part one takes place in the Archbishop Thomas Becket’s hall on 2 December 1170. The play begins with a Chorus singing, foreshadowing the coming violence. The Chorus is a key part of the drama, with its voice changing and developing during the play, offering comments about the action and providing a link between the audience and the characters and action, as in Greek drama. Three priests are present, and they reflect on the absence of Becket and the rise of temporal power. A herald announces Becket’s arrival. Becket is immediately reflective about his coming martyrdom, which he embraces, and which is understood to be a sign of his own selfishness—his fatal weakness. The tempters arrive, three of whom parallel the Temptations of Christ.
First performance
George Bell, the Bishop of Chichester, was instrumental in getting Eliot to work as writer with producer E. Martin Browne in producing the pageant play The Rock (1934). Bell then asked Eliot to write another play for the Canterbury Festival in 1935. Eliot agreed to do so if Browne once again produced (he did). The first performance of Murder in the Cathedral was given on 15 June 1935 in the Chapter House of Canterbury Cathedral. Robert Speaight played the part of Becket. The production then moved to the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate in London and ran there for several months. A significant performance of the play was held on 15 February 2018. Nithin Varghese, an assistant professor at St Berchmans College in Changanassery, directed the play for the first time in Kerala. This performance was part of the golden jubilee celebration of the postgraduate program in English at the college. The play was staged on the outdoor stage located in front of the Arts Block, and received positive recognition from the audience for its adherence to T. S. Eliot‘s original text.
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