Morality Play

Morality Play, by Barry Unsworth, is a murder mystery set in late medieval England. It's a very short novel at a mere 206 pages. It opens with Nicholas Barber, a young man in monastic orders who has broken his vow of chastity (who can blame him?) and fled to escape punishment at the hands of his superiors. He stumbles across a group of players - a traveling acting troupe - who have recently lost one of their members. He asks to join them to hide his identity and help him achieve obscurity. They acquiesce, and he quickly learns the roles necessary for him to play in their repertoire - morality plays with a religious basis and theme, such as that of Adam and Eve. The players are poor, and on their way to a festival to put on shows at the behest of their lord and sponsor, they stop at a village to hold a few impromptu performances to add to the common purse.

After their first play, they come to learn of a murder that has recently taken place - that of a young boy of twelve. Thomas Wells was found strangled on the road not far from the village, and a local weaver's daughter was tried, convicted, and sentenced to hang for the crime, and is currently awaiting her fate in the dungeon of the local lord, Robert de Guise. The leader of the acting troupe, Martin, has a bold idea - why not put on the Play of Thomas Wells? It has never been done before, this playing of an actual event without foundation in the text of the Bible, but Martin knows it will bring a big crowd and fill their purse with shillings.

The players casually ask around town to get information upon which to base their play, and they begin to discover some inconsistencies in the story. Through their innocent inquiry and their actual playing of the events, they are led to new conclusions about what - and who - really happened to Thomas Wells. When they put on their final show, complete with new information and accusations, Barber, Martin and company are in danger of facing the wrath of powerful men.

It's a simple story, told in the at-times awkward narration of Nicholas Barber (several run-on sentences in a quasi-stream-of-consciousness in places). The mystery is an intriguing one, and although it became apparent to me fairly early on what was really going on, the players' arrival at the same conclusion through de facto detective work and the revelation that comes with assuming the roles of the characters in the actual events themselves is a great thing to experience.

It's an enjoyable short novel of Unsworth's - an author for whom I have a significant and increasing respect - although it is a bit dark and the narrative voice might turn off certain readers. But it is different, and it is good. I recommend it.