Allegorical 'Everyman' to be Presented March 19-21

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- The Lindsey Wilson College Theatre Program will give a new interpretation on a 600-year-old play. The college's theater program will present Everyman March 19-21 in V.P. Henry Auditorium, 210 Lindsey Wilson St. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. CT.

The play, whose origins are traced to late 15th-century England, explores Christian salvation through allegorical characters.

"It's about salvation, it's about redemption, but it's about death as well," said Lindsey Wilson Assistant Professor of Theatre Robert Brock.

The play is about the character Everyman, who has been summoned by the character Death to make his reckoning before God.

"Everyman (the character) represents all human beings, and he is called to a reckoning with death -- it's the process you hear about death, and nobody wants to go alone and everyone wants to bribe death to see if they can live a little longer," Brock said. "But eventually you have to accept it and let go."

Although the Everyman has been around for six centuries, its author is unknown.

"Historians think it might have come from a Dutch play that is basically the same story, but before that they think it might have come from a Buddhist tale," Brock said. "There were a lot of Buddhist monks going around Europe in the Middle Ages, trading stories. And there is a story the Buddha told about a man on his way to death who met all these people and had to let go of things."

One of the play's premises is that a person's good and evil deeds are tallied by God after death.

"The play is about Everyman discovering how he's squandered his life, wasted time and didn't think about the things that were important," Brock said. "The characters all represent something more bigger than themselves. … It's a really interesting play that I've wanted to do for a long time."

The Lindsey Wilson College Theatre Program will present Everymanat 7:30 p.m. CT March 19-21 in the Lindsey Wilson College V.P. Henry Auditorium, 210 Lindsey Wilson St. Tickets at $5. For more information, contact Robert Brock at at brockr@ lindsey.edu or (270) 590-4803.

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