Golden City 50 Exhibition

The Golden City : 1974 Fringe Firsts Award recipient

The Golden City was awarded a Fringe First in 1974, the second year of the Fringe Firsts Awards. The Golden City was a major promenade theatre production created by the Strathclyde Theatre Group over the course of two years. In August 1974, it was performed initially in Glasgow Cathedral and then, later in the month and into September, in St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral, Edinburgh.

1974 Programme

A facsimile of the 1974 programme, with company list and background material is available for download Golden City programme (two up .pdf file)

Click or touch the image to open the Golden City programme

Programme Notes

The Souveneir Edition of The Golden City programme contained three prose pieces explaining the gestation of the production, the structure of the production and the Anabaptists story. The following sub sections present that material, providing context for the production photographs.

Introduction

This play has evolved over the past two and a half years, in which time about one hundred people have contributed something to it. It is impossible to say that any one individual is more responsible for its creation than another; people gave what they could when they could. For reasons of merit the credits in this programme indicate actor, technician, writer, etc., but the creative development of the play negates such clear distinctions. An idea was conceived, research was conducted and condensed into a scenario which was the basis of improvisations by the actors. A combination of scenario structure and the experience of improvisation resulted in the script. This was then adapted: first, by the actors to fit the life of the characters they were portraying; and, second, by the directors to shape the piece into a theatrical event. The process was an ever-changing and developing exchange of energy and inspiration, of making something together. This flux of activity, frustration, work and satisfaction was held together by the belief that we had a remarkable story to tell. A story of the past that speaks about today. We hope you find it entertaining.

Bertie Scott

The Production

With a conventional production you fit the actors to the parts. In “The Golden City” we had to start the other way round, We chose a subject, and then worked it to suit the actors’ talents. An immediate problem arose. As we improvised on the historical events of the piece, it became obvious that the cast, about forty, all had very different ideas about what had taken place. We had to try to turn that difficulty into a virtue. Everyone agreed that certain events had taken place, but not about the whys and wherefores of them. So we gradually constructed a continuous story line but used different theatrical styles to tell each part of it, giving us the freedom to include oposing ideas of interpretation. This decision made, it necessitated creating a framework which could contain all these opposing styles. Through the improvisations, the idea for a carnival was evolved. The show people in the carnival present a play, in the same way as the strolling players of centuries past. In the rough and ready atmosphere of this troupe they use comedy, tragedy, farce, song and dance to present their story. The resulting mixture of realism and surrealism is strangely relevant to the actual events in the ‘Golden City’ of Munster, where what was accepted as everyday ‘reality’ in the city changed wildly from moment to moment, until, to the outside world at least, the city seemed emmeshed in a bygone, theatrical, unreal, nightmare, not at all unlike the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. It is quite relevant that the ‘Messiah’ of Munster, John of Leyden, had been an actor! In theatre an illusion of reality is presented to an audience, but the illusion itself is solid and real. Apply that idea to ‘real life’ and the ‘illusion’ can quickly gain a frighteningly strong hold. John, the actor, was very quick to realise this and to use it. The production of ‘The Golden City’ tries to mirror the disintegration of ‘reality’ in Anabaptist Munster.

Hugo Gifford

The Anabaptists

We tend to view the Reformation as a distant historical period noted for political, religious and social upheaval, forgetting the basic drives we share with human beings who killed one another because of their religion. Man has always believed that there is a better way of life than the one he lives; whether it is to be found in emulation of the past or looking to progress and the future. History is littered with accounts of certain groups of people claiming the perfect way. Anabaptism began with a handful of people in Zurich, 1525, who were convinced that they could live in complete purity by following the example of Christ and his apostles in a fellowship of communal love. They were what we would call middle-class people, those with sufficient education to read the new bibles in the vernacular which were produced by the newly invented printing press. Due to its rejection of infant baptism and civil authority, the sect suffered exile and persecution. This resulted in spreading the new Faith and convincing its adherents that they were the martyrs of the last days who were gloriously depicted in the Revelation of St John. They suffered persecution, sustained by the magnificent hope of Christ's return and the destruction of the corrupt world of Anti-Christ when the New Jerusalem would descend and the Saints would inherit the earth. But, as more and more of the saner leaders were executed by Lutherans and Catholics, who united against this burgeoning threat, less balanced leaders came to the fore declaring themselves to be Elijah or Enoch returned to earth to prepare the way for Christ.. Only one ruler in the Holy Roman Empire refused to kill others for their divergent Faith - Landgrave Philip of Hesse, whose territories included a city administered on his behalf by a Prince Bishop. The city was Munster.

Prince Bishop's thug arrests Jan

In the pantomime scene, immediately after the polygamous wedding ceremonies, the Prince Bishop sends his man, in the panto character of the Wicked Uncle, to arrest and imprison Jan of Leyden (figured as Prince Charming, of course).

UNCLE:

Before I see these damsels wedded,
I’ll see them all in pieces shredded …

JAN:

You may be nasty, grim, and hairy
But I’m protected by a fairy…

King Jan's ceremonial court

Once Jan has taken control of the city, he installs himself, his beloved Divara, and his trusted counsellors in a hieratic performance of regal majesty, although very soon the populace of faithful Anabaptist believers will be besieged and starving.

From left: Dusenchur, Heinrich Grasse. Bernard Knipperdollink, Anabaptist woman, Divara, Jan of Leyden, Bernard Bukbuynder, Pastor Rottman

Theological wrestling match : The Pope v Martin Luther

The story begins, farcically enough, with the doctrinal disputes of the Reformation period acted out as a ludicrously staged wrestling match – the Pope versus Martin Luther, introduced by the Master of Ceremonies, and refereed by Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. The ring consists of four movable trolleys, in the centre of the nave, the crowd are the people of Munster. A semi-naked soul, a seeker of the truth, looks on. The winner will be revealed in a later photo.

Anabaptists pray

After three earlier ‘prophets’ have preached the new Anabaptist faith, and sought to inaugurate the golden city prophesied in the Book of Revelation, there are moments of reverent calm, before self-promotion, violent disorder and external attack will eventually bring the long-feared Armageddon to their besieged city.

From left: Knipperdollink, Dusentuchur, Anabaptist woman (yes, un-named but holy and virtuous), Pastor Rottman, Bernard Bukbuynder

Dame and Buttons lead the panto song

In the ‘new Jerusalem’ that Munster was becoming, males were radically out-numbered. The pantomime scene in the show followed up this problem, outlined by the MC in his prologue:

“Gents were outnumbered! Three to one!
What could they do? What could be done?
John thought and thought, and then cried ‘Bigamy!’
But that was wrong. Instead – ‘Polygamy!’
And anyone who wasn’t wedded
Was very, very soon beheaded.”

The scene concluded with the townspeople and the audience joining in this communal sing-song. Jan married sixteen wives.

Carnival characters

The play began with a bustling carnival, all the actors, playing carnival characters among the gathering audience; getting ready for their roles, then preparing the movable stages, doing their various circus stunts, and finally crowning a carnival King and Queen – in a ludicrous prophecy of the story to come, Jan of Leyden, and his lover Divara, are crowned. This pair of beauties are disappointed not to win.

MC sets the scene

The Master of Ceremonies controls and expounds the progress of the story throughout the play, variously charming the audience, setting the scenes, providing occasional historical facts, and managing all the emotional ups and downs in the action. By the tragic end, though, his tone becomes sombre, and in the final scene, the stage is left to Jan, who is placed in a cage which is hung from the tower of the town’s church, where his executed body is left on public display.

It's a Knockout : Pope floored

The audience would often be as close as this to the action. Cast members would move the trolley platforms to new positions for different scenes. Some of the costumes were simply found by the actors, appropriate for their carnival and panto roles; the townspeople wore simple white cloth tunics, until their conversion to the Anabaptist faith, when they wore black

The Anabaptists receive Jan's message

In this scene from the dress rehearsal, a few audience members can be spotted; they were variously musicians not playing while the preaching went on, and technical crew observing the lighting and sound. At the performances there would be as many, or often more, audience members among the watchers. Sometimes Anabaptists would try to convert them. The 'Baptism' music was played towards the end of the scene.

the music

King Jan's court dances a pavane

The second half began with Jan’s monarchy established and celebrated in a stately formal dance, performed by six couples, dressed beautifully in white and cream. “The dance weaves – very courtly, sustained, flowing, cat-like. It is at once beautiful and disturbing, even menacing”. It was choreographed by Stuart Hopps, quite early in his long and distinguished career. Both complete and 5 minute versions of the Pavane music are available.

Jan crowns himself King of Munster

The people, and some of the preachers, are persuaded that Jan is the new king, a new David, long prophesied, and he crowns himself:

“Jan: (slowly, wondering, hieratic)
Jan from Leyden, you are King of Munster.
You are the one King, anointed by the prophet of God. …
Your city shall be the Golden City, and your reign shall be for a thousand years….
You are the Word who has become flesh.”

This ended the first half.

Townspeople chorus their new faith

The townspeople have always been great singers. There is coarse singing in the opening carnival :

“We are the Catholics/We are the best/ We’ll get to heaven/To hell with the rest …. There’ll be a Reformation/For Jesus told us so,/And if you don’t believe us,/You know where you can go.”

Townspeople then sing of the despair which makes them willing to accept the prophets’ messages:

“We pay more for barley, pay more for rice,/Housekeeping money soon won’t suffice …”

And joy-filled choruses once they are converted to the new faith.

All the music and lyrics were original, written for the show, and performed by the cast accompanied by live bands of more than a dozen musicians stationed all round the nave. Recordings of the Townspeope's song with and without vocals are available.

The Prince Bishop's soldiers sing

As a prologue to the battle soon to be played out in the pantomime scene, three drunken soldiers boastfuly sing about their exploits:

‘Twas on an Easter Sunday
The skies were bright and blue
We marched to Munster city
To fight the chosen few….
They thundered up most boldly
Calling on the Lord
They didn’t call quite loud enough
‘Cos we put them to the sword.

Armageddon comes to Munster

Anabaptists were an eschatological sect, and so it was obvious for them to conceive the final battle with the Prince Bishop’s forces as the arrival of “Armageddon’, prophesied in Revelation as the arrival of the Anti-Christ and the apocalyptic last battle before the Second Coming of Jesus to save the faithful. This event was enacted as a tremendous expression of terror and confusion, as the following stage directions strikingly demonstrate:

“The following sequence is a combination of sights, sounds and sensations to make the audience experience apocalypse … The effects will include: A) Immediate blackout (any lighting used in this sequence will be shadowy and suggestive). B) Disturbing amount of noise from the synthesizer. C) Serpent worm, which will be lowered from the ceiling head-first to just above the heads of the audience. A rope at the head can be used to rotate it”.

This worked - listen to the synthesiser and bass 'sound track'.

Hugo Giford : Director of the Golden City and STG

A man of rare skill and imagination

An appreciation by John Fowler

With the sudden death of Hugo Gifford this week at the age of 36 the Scottish theatre has lost a fresh and promising talent.

Though he trained as an actor and had acted and directed on professional stage, he was best known as the first director of drama at Strathcyde University and as founder of Strathclyde Theatre Group, which he built into a link between the university and the community involving students, staff and men and women from all walks of life.

Having spent 10 years as a university teacher (though hecould never be categorised as an academic) he left 18 months ago to form a small touring company, Kabal, whose first production toured in Scotland recently and whose second was being planned when he died.

His most notable early production for STG was “ The Golden City” an apocalyptic account of the religious ferment in a German city in Reformation times. This he helped research, write and acted in as well as directed, and it won the group one of the early Fringe First awards when they took it to Edinburgh in 1974

It had all the hallmarks of his work: music, movement and above all theatrical inventiveness.

My first memory of Hugo dates from shortly after that production when I saw him along with other members of the theatre group in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow declaiming Shakespeare at a fast pace to a startled and snow-flecked audience of Saturday afternoon shoppers.. This was a direct consequence of “ Golden City”- the extravaganza had lost money and a public read-in of the complete plays was a desperate measure to raise funds.

The following year I showed him a play I had written and a collaboration and friendship began between us which I, like all writers who worked with him, found exciting and rewarding. Unlike many good directors he always sought to realise the intentions of the playwright, and one of the group’s chief aims was to encourage the works of writers new to the stage. Those with whom he worked fruitfully were the Orkney poet George Mackay Brown and Robert Nye.

He had many memorable productions to his credit: an outstanding “Everyman” in Glasgow Cathedral and more recently a turbulent and controversial interpretation of Marlowe’s “Dr Faustus” at the Strathclyde Drama Centre, the tiny theatre space where most of his work as teacher and director was accomplished.

In class, he concentrated on the practical rather than the academic approach to plays and one of his great assets was the ability to inspire enthusiasm among the young people with whom he worked. He had a magic which could reveal talent in people who had been unaware of it themselves, and to which others had been blind.

Hugo Gifford had rare skill and imagination. He had a kind nature and an endearing personality, and men and women loved him for it. When the lights dim and the actor leaves, the stage is a barren empty place.

Glasgow Herald, Thursday 16 July 1981

Victor Lockwood : Lighting Designer for The Golden City

Vic went to Strathclyde to study Pharmacy ~1969 and by 1973 was Scottish Opera's chief Electrician. Subsequently he worked in similar roles for both Scottish Ballet and the Opera, re-lighting touring shows and undertaking original lighting designs. During the 1970's he was STG and Hugo's "go-to" lighting designer.

The Golden City : In Memoriam

2024 is the production's 50th anniversary, it seems an apposite time to both celebrate the achievement and remember the folk who worked on the production but have joined the ancestors.

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