Uncommon Sense from the Canterbury Tales

Incorporating masks and music in this unique production by Chaucer & Co., Uncommon Sense: Tales of Melibee & Sir Thopas places us on the brink of war, when a powerful young lord’s family is attacked. Lord Melibee responds emotionally, as most of us would (and did on Sept. 11): outraged at the injustice of the attack on his wife and daughter and filled with a desire for revenge. Surprisingly, his wife, Dame Prudence, herself a victim of this violence, strives to serve as a voice of reason, counseling for peace. The ensuing debate over the appropriate political and/or military response, set within a domestic battleground of emotion versus reason, makes for a deeply compelling and sometimes amusing drama laced with wisdom. Intermingled with the Tale of Melibee are dream-like visions from the Tale of Sir Thopas, in which a love-sick knight battles a 3-headed giant in an effort to win the elf queen of his dreams.