In 1599 William Kemp danced the 90 miles from London to Norwich. Formerly the resident fool in William Shakespeare’s acting company, Will Kemp was much beloved by the groundlings and commoners who frequented the early comedies. They mobbed his route as he danced the “Morrice” from village to village, and when he arrived in Norwich, having covered the entire distance in just nine days of actual dancing, he was celebrated as something of a legend. Perhaps to enhance and preserve this legendary status, the next year he published a broadside entitled “Kemps Nine Days Wonder”. The narrative, meant to “reprove lying fools I never knew” and to “commend loving friends”, documents his adventures en route.

Our Revels this year draws upon Kemp’s account, reshaping history just a bit to place his journey and arrival in the days immediately preceding the Winter Solstice of 1599. As he recounts his journey in his own words, we witness through the songs and dance of that time the art of the common folk and the warmth of community that carried him along his way.

In 1599 Elizabeth I had already been ruling England for forty years. Born into difficult political times, this daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn excelled at balancing the demands of court life with a presence in the lives of the commoners who worshipped her as “Elizabeth Gloriana”. In a way that has become increasingly rare in modern leadership, she was able to fuse strength and charisma, pragmatism and compassion, resolve and wisdom. Adept at negotiating the paths of court intrigue as well as the intricacies of international diplomacy, she was also passionately committed to the many artists who were the true flower of her reign. She was known to dance and sing in the court masques that were held in her honor, and even produced a body of poetry. In the rarified air of Elizabeth’s court, the art of the English high renaissance flourished.

To maintain contact with her subjects and project a presence throughout the realm, “Queen Bess” and her court would, on occasion, make a royal progress through the countryside. What might have happened if the Queen’s progress had settled in Norwich for the holidays just as Kemp came jingling into town? This imagined collision of “high” and “low” art is the stuff of this year’s Revels. Join us as we celebrate an age of enlightened leadership, exalted music, exuberant celebration, and traditions that echo down to the present day – the age of Elizabeth.