Set in the 12th century, In Extremis is a play which feels beautifully held in space and time, dealing largely with the story of Heloise and Abelard, two legendary lovers. Student and religious teacher respectively, Heloise and Abelard’s revolutionary ideas and extramarital activity lead to their condemnation by the religious and courtly community of their age.

The ideas of Abelard, preserved only in his love letters to Heloise, have been likened to an “early Renaissance” by director Grainne Dromgoole. Abelard’s ideas challenged the fundamentalist doctrine of the religious teachers of his age, and challenged France’s religious establishment with his dialectical ideals of logic and reasoning, based upon the teachings of the ‘heathen’ Aristotle, which he applied to scripture. Abelard also shocked France as a whole with his rather public and unashamed affair with Heloise, a pupil of his religious teachings.

“In Extremis is a play which feels beautifully held in space and time”

Even a few years after the public revelation and forced end of Heloise and Abelard’s affair, as we are told by characters within the play, the pair become legendary star-crossed lovers, and the story of their forbidden love and their suppressed ideas captured the public imagination as it captures the imagination of the audience.

This particular production of the play is set in the beautiful Fellows’ Garden at Jesus College. Allegedly containing the oldest wall in the college, dating from the convent founded in the 12th century which preceded the college. This convent was, according to college legend, shut down because of the nuns’ lascivious behaviour. If true, this feels extremely appropriate to this beautiful setting for the play, reflecting the transgressive behaviour of many canonical characters within the play, including a foot-licking monk and nuns imitating orgasm, which wonderfully treads the line between comedy and tragedy.

Although the busy road nearby Jesus Fellows’ Garden presented some inevitable challenges in vocal projection, the actors dealt with this issue extremely well on the whole and dialogue was perfectly audible. Indeed, the noises that naturally occurred in the garden, such as the birds twittering, the whistling of wind through the trees, the tolling of a nearby church bell and the revving of a motorcycle on the road outside all seemed to happen at the best possible moments, emphasising the mood and atmosphere of particular scenes. One particularly beautiful example of this was when the wind picked up as Helene, played by Thea Mead, sang a Latin prayer, providing a wonderful accompaniment to this a cappella piece.

“Arthur Barnard and Jo Heywood provide wonderful dramatic and comic foils to the more serious protagonists”

This play is interesting in the ways in which it navigates both spheres of tragedy and comedy. At times, this contrast could feel a little jarring, and one did get the sense that the audience wasn’t really sure how to react, with a few awkward laughs at some of the more ambiguous jokes. But Arthur Barnard and Jo Heywood provide wonderful dramatic and comic foils to the more serious protagonists (poignantly portrayed by Dan Blick and Laura Cameron), reminiscent of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, or else stock comic characters from a pantomime, and resolve much of this tension.

Review: Arcadia

Ultimately, In Extremis is a fascinating show, and is certainly worth the trip down Jesus Lane