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Welcome the world of The Twilight Court...
In collating the amount of material for our Rambling House radio series, we became aware of the density of material regarding superstitions, folklore and customs in the northwest. In an effort to try and bring the full range of material to the attention of the listeners, we devised a method by which we could present as much information as possible in a short space of time that would be both fun and non didactic.
The result was The Twilight Court, which is a mock court trial under which Superstition itself is on trial to be decided by the audience at the “court” on any given evening, but traditionally set on a Friday 13th. The question being asked is “is there any room in a modern age for superstitions?” A number of common topics associated with superstitions and customs are examined with an “expert witness” such a seventh son of a seventh son being cross-examined by counsel. The topics include good and bad omens, births and deaths, love and marriage, charms and cures as well as fairies and sprites. Each one is examined and counsel debates the pros and cons for Superstition for Common Sense respectively. Whilst counsel for Superstition will be showing how each area should be regarded as beneficial and helpful to us all, counsel for Common Sense emphasises some of the more unusual items and indeed the ridiculous ritual that comes with them.
In between each of the witnesses’ expert testimony, there is a musical interlude with a song relating to the next topic to be examined. Audience participation is encouraged with any tales that they may have to be told on the night. There is a delightful twist in the story to keep the “jury” on their toes and the tone of the night is one of good humour whilst delving into the deep treasure chest of strange and unusual lore out there. To the passing visitor or native, The Twilight Court serves a helpful resource in knowing how generations dealt with issues from warts to weddings, piseogs to pookas.
First performed on Friday 13th March 2009 in the Court House of Donegal Town, it was then 'beefed up' with new music and greater crowd participation to Carndonagh Court House on Friday 13th November 2009. This is part one of the piece - we hope you enjoy it and apologies for the odd bit of fading in sound quality - bad luck you could say!