(originally wrote this outline for screenplay...am gradually adapting it for stage)
Outline:
Sea shore, night, a group of three women and one man come ashore from a small boat, exhausted, collapsing, kissing the ground � after a few lines, we hear the Director's voice intrude ... "Okay, Joe, at this point Mary is about to collapse and you notice this, so you need to move in to her and give her a little support, right?..." It's a rehearsal...a discussion starts...
The apparent subject of the play is the secret, smuggled arrival in another country of the pregnant wife of an executed terrorist after his show trial on false charges in the Middle East. Subsequently her family and followers become a cultural/political force that is inevitably on a collision course with the Establishment�
(The historical subtext is the myth/story (see book "Holy Blood, Holy Grail") of the "Saintes Maries de la Mer" - Mary, mother of Jesus, Martha and Mary Magdalene (Jesus "best friend") and Joseph of Arimethea (carrier of The Grail - either the Cup of the Last Supper or the San Graal - the Sang Real - the "Royal Blood") who were either fleeing the Romans OR who were banished by the established Church, escape by boat to France after the Crucifixion. They become the founders of an early, more mystical and democratic Christianity that admitted women to the priesthood and that possibly was the basis of the Cathar/Merovingian ("Vine of Mary") religion/dynasty in France in the 12th C., which was eventually destroyed as heretical by the Catholic Church in the Albigensian Crusade, the final massacre occurring at the Chateau de Montsegur in the Languedoc region.)
The discussion in the play revolves mainly around the role of women in religion, in politics, in relationships of power and relationships in general - for instance, Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus when he rose fron the dead - she is the first true believer in his resurrection - yet the others don't believe her in the beginning. Eventually she disappears from view as a disciple, even though she was closest to Jesus during his life and may have been a senior church leader and visionary until she came into conflict with Peter and the new, all male church hierarchy.
One protagonist (The Actress, who is into eastern philosophy) questions why God has to be male anyway - why not both male and female, Jesus AND Mary, like in Hindu chakras (the joining of male and female/Shiva and Shakti is the basis of the whole spiritual system). Another (the Writer) confesses his brush with Paganism (Goddess worship) in a commune back in the 60s.
The creative twist is the shifting timeframes and contexts in which the story unfolds. Back and forth between the Rehearsal in modern dress and the final "Mystery Play" in traditional dress.
The producer, director, talent, crew and a writer discuss the facts and mysteries of the case as the play/rehearsal proceeds. The drama unfolds both in the play AND in the relationships and events that the cast and crew undergo as time goes by. The landscape and characters are both present and past. Characters express their opinions and experience both inside and outside the piece. Gradually modern dress gives way to traditional.
The final scene is a new Mass which celebrates both Male and Female aspects of spiritual life in the way of eastern Yin/Yang, Shiva/Shakti - the Cross (death to self) and the Cup (rebirth) - Father, Son and Holy Mother, rather than Holy Ghost.
Characters:
The different modern characters can be advocates for a variety of current attitudes, from tough-minded nihilist to air-headed New Age.
The Actor - plays Joseph of Arimethea - voice of experience and passion, people disregard his need for intimacy and love - alcohol might soften the pain of his life, but not the need to be filled�ends up throwing in his professional career to found a troupe of "Troubadours" with the Interpreter - becomes old-time travelling actor, telling his version of the Story around Europe - only difference is, he has a website, of course!.
The Actress - plays MM - an emotional realist, agnostic, doubting, but gradually won over by the image of balance MM represents in her life, her beliefs and relationships. Being female versus "playing" female in relation to men�persona vs. inner reality�being "The Grail" - the container and protector of a new life - the biological miracle of being able to create life versus the banal requirements of working life versus the flowering of passion and compassion as one step's outside gender roles and cultural roles into the light of a higher consciousness�she starts to "see" into a deeper sense of possibility�
The Writer - true believer, passionate about the story - he kills himself before opening night - the Actress/Mary is the first to find him and clashing with the Director she ensures that writer's vision ends up on stage
The Producer�he's got to believe in this "property" to make it work and to make it saleable�but how far will he support it when The Story starts taking over the Production�?!
The Director� cynical, in it to stay busy - he clashes with the Writer over the message he's portraying
The Stage Manager - a local girl (French?), practical, a professional, a "do-it-all" facilitator, steeped in modern culture and attitudes, a little "punk", could be gay. Starts to get caught up in the ideas and the mysteries. Has "The Dream" - she is Mary, running, knowing what she knows, pregnant with a miracle, a real person caught up in an emotional and political whirlwind. She dreams there is a person they must meet, some trace memory from childhood, a song her grandmother sang as she came home from church in her little, ancient fortress town in the hills�she becomes Everywoman
The Drunk?�a jester, the Fool, a local drunk in the town who knows the old ways - and the way to the Knight.
The Knight?� Mystery man who is funding the production. Implied "old money" Knight Templar connection. "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" - for some reason it's evocative for me. I see a knight, hooded, helmeted, passing through a stone doorway on a dark night, welcomed by fellow believers, and visiting on a mission of significance - a Revolutionary, he is not afraid of being spiritual, and his life is swept up in the drama and meaning of the Work...
Next Steps:
What should I do next? Needs more work but I need to get feedback to see if there's any real point to it! Next is detailed outline of the action and characters - if the characters can come alive it'll write itself I would hope! I haven't figured out all the issues though - is there a love triangle in the group? Maybe Actress, Writer, Director Does the discussion need modernising - issues of sexual orientation and the meaning for personal authenticity/happiness, truth and honesty between partners, being "here" to others, not lost in one's own little world and big picture: Palestine conflict, AIDS, terror, globalisation you name it!
What do you think - is this all too complicated? << Index Feedback>>
Also need to establish more of the history - if MM was an early leader in Palestine before she was shipped off to France, who did she conflict with? - Peter presumably (the "establishment" -- male hierarchy)
And when she arrived in France, who was there? Gauls? Romans? Did she convert them to her feminine/gnostic brand of Christianity? Maybe she ties in with their old pagan Goddess worship, which becomes basis/reason for the Grail legends?
And basically, why should anyone watching the play CARE?!
The Conflict>>