Elckerlijc

An Anglo-Dutch morality play by an unknown playwright. Authorship ascribed to Petrus Dorlandus (also known as Petrus Diesthemius or Peter van Diest) In his introduction to his edition of Gennep’s Een comedia ofte spel van Homulus, J.W. van Bart discusses the possibility that both plays Elckerlijc and Everyman are derived from a play Quilibet written in Latin by Petrus Dorlandus.

The spelling varies. Other forms of spelling are Elckerlijk, Elkerlijk, Elckerlyc. The English title is Everyman and in German it is known as Jedermann.

The story: God summons Everyman by ordering Death to take him for his own. Everyman pleads delay and then seeks around for anyone who may bear hin company. First he turns to Fellowship, later to Knowledge, Beauty, Strength, and so on.

Performance history in South Africa
Performed in the open air on the grounds of St Cyprian School in Cape Town on Saturday 9 April 1927 by Anton Verheyen, Louis de Vriendt, Mignon Sorel and others. A choir was directed by Sarah Goldblatt.

This production was performed in the Recreation Hall in Stellenbosch on 12 April 1927. Due to bad weather an open-air performance was not possible.

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