A Satire of the Three Estates was written by Sir David Lindsay of the Mount. Sir David Lindsay owned land at the Mount near Cupar. The Hopetoun Monument (shown below) is on this land.
Given that the 16th century was a time of deepening religious unrest in Scotland, it might be fair to expect the play to be mealy-mouthed and sanctimonious, but it is most decidedly neither of these. Nor is it filled with "thee"s and "thou"s. Although Auld Scots can be difficult to read, it springs to life when spoken aloud and most Scots will understand what David Lindsay was trying to say without too much effort.
The"three estates" of the title are the clergy, the nobility, and everybody else, and the play raises questions as pertinent to politics in Scotland today as it did then. The blog for the production can be found here
Beautiful weather at Linlithgow Palace on Sunday was a decided bonus to this outdoor performance, and even the parliament of crows in the trees hit their cues on time. Far from being staid and stuffy the performance was hilariously earthy and bawdy in parts and, at others it held a mirror to the state of politics today. Eight hours flew past in a whirl of Vices, Virtues, political commentary and fart gags until, sunburnt and happy, the audience went home.
The last performance (of the Interlude) will be on Thursday, June 13th at Stirling Castle.
