Frideswide - An Oxford Story

Lively, fun, outdoor production suitable for all, telling the story of the patron saint of Oxford
Wytham Village - the orchard, Fri September 12th - Sat September 13th 2008

September 12, 2008
Alas, the interminable bloody rain necessitated the move of Frideswide from the bucolic delights of Wytham orchard to All Saints Church last night, where the brave actors, their bare feet blue on the icy flags, gave a splendid performance of Angie Johnson’s interesting short play about the life of Oxford’s patron saint.

Melissa Thomas gave us a spirited but grounded heroine, whose determined ambition to found a religious house where women could study and devote their lives to God was tempered by excellent common sense and what legend gives us as the over-riding characteristic of the saintly princess – her very great kindness and sympathy for other people. Thus, to save reprisals against her father and his people she hides in the forest from the unwelcome attentions of Algar, the King of Mercia, and cheerfully takes up a post as swine-herd. When Algar discovers and attempts to take her by force, her prayers for deliverance are rather unexpectedly answered by God smiting Algar with blindness; the indignant and tender-hearted Frideswide takes God to task for over-reacting and implores a further miracle to cure him.

Johnson’s play, only an hour long, is intelligently written and shows us a plausible imagining of how it might have been; it’s also very funny, and this performance (there will be two more on Saturday, at 2 and 6 pm and who knows, if the sun returns as promised they might take it back to the orchard!) was further enlivened by James Gifford and Nick Harper, who ingeniously played almost all the other roles – both Frideswide’s parents, naughty Algar and his horse, Frideswide’s girly friends, Algar’s evil henchmen, and assorted other sundry bods. There were children from the village in supporting roles, special mention of one enchantingly lovely tiny moppet as an angel.

On Saturday the play will be part of the village fete, featuring such other traditional delights as cream teas, a brass band, and a barbecue. If the sun does shine as promised I thoroughly recommend this little taste of a bygone world.
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