The Mostly Medieval Theatre Festival (MMTF) is a biennial performance festival showcasing and invigorating the global heritage of drama, music, dance, and performance styles from late antiquity through the Renaissance. All evening performances will be followed by a talkback—an opportunity to ask questions and share knowledge among the audience and performers. We hope you'll join us at the following performances and events, part of the 52nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, May 11 to 14, 2017.
- All performances take place at the Gilmore Theatre Complex on the WMU campus.
- Shuttles depart Valley 3 (Eldridge-Fox) for evening performances beginning at 7:15 pm.
- Return shuttles depart both at the conclusion of each performance and following the talkback.
Tickets
| General Admission | $15.00 USD | For all performances |
| Presale with Congress registration, online | $10.00 USD | Evening performances |
Schedule
Cosmic Dance
A music and dance performance based on the life and music of the twelfth-century mystic and visionary Hildegard of Bingen. Combines ancient music with contemporary dance interpreting Hildegard’s vision for a new age. Ann Marie Boyle of Early Music Michigan and choreographer Becky Straple join forces for this innovative and engaging theatrical event.
- Creators: Ann Marie Boyle and Becky Straple
- Location: Wednesday, May 10, 8:00 PM
- Ensemble: Early Music Michigan
Leaf-by-Niggle, It's A Miracle! and Cooch E. Whippet (Farce of Martin of Cambray)
- Translator: Jody Enders
- Ensemble: University of Maryland, Harlotry Players (University of Michigan) and Radford University, respectively
- Location: Thursday, May 11, 8:00 PM
Esmoreit and Lippijn
In new translations by Mandy L. Albert, and directed by Festival founder Lofty Durham, this double bill features a contemporary reimagining of a pair of plays from the fifteenth-century Middle Dutch Van Hulthem manuscript. In Esmoreit, an evil villain and a dreadful prophecy lead to a baby’s kidnap and a happy ending. In Lippijn, someone gets a happy ending, but it’s not the husband.
- Location: Friday, May 12, 8:00 PM; Saturday, May 13, 3:30 PM
- Ensemble: Western Michigan University
Floris and Blancheflour and Dulcitius, or Sex in the Kitchen
It’s “Toronto night” at the festival! Toronto’s Pneuma Ensemble shares a period musical presentation of the first extant romance in English, before the venerable PLS performs Colleen Butler’s new translation of Hrosvit’s tenth-century tragicomedy about the Roman emperor lured into carnal embrace with cookware.
- Ensemble: Pneuma Ensemble and Poculi Ludique Societas, respectively
- Location: Saturday, May 13, 8:00 PM