m E r l i n
The story
by Victoria Heward ©1998
Act one
An old celtic legend tells that Merlin is
born when the Devil, wanting a
representative on earth, seduces a princess.
Although Merlin is born with
mystical powers as a result of this union,
the evil magic is eliminated when
his mother has him baptised as soon as he is
born thus leaving only the
powers of good inside her son.
2 AS
IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING
The story jumps into the future and finds the
devil, Merlin’s father,
disguised as a harmless minstrel wandering
around the enchanted forest. He
first meets Gwendolyn, the wife who Merlin
deserted in favour of a solitary
life, and then Ganieda, the troubled sister
so worried about her brother and
his apparent madness. Both women sing of
their distress and lonliness and
the devil seeing this weakness is quick to
take advantage and befriends both
of them.
3 WINTER
LAMENT
Life in the forest for Merlin is hard as
winter sets in and he finds himself
without food and shelter. Thanks to his
ability to communicate with animals,
Merlin discovers, for the first time, how to
overcome the laws of nature and
midst the freezing winter snow makes a fruit
bearing tree grow.
4 THE
MUSICIAN ARRIVES
In the meantime Ganeida, Merlin’s sister, has fallen for the charms of the ’minstrel’ and has asked him to help persuade
her brother to return home
where he will be safe and warm. The devil
arrives in the forest and manages
to force Merlin back to his sister’s
house. A leaf from a tree in the
forest falls into Ganeida’s hair and
unknowingly she carries it with her
when she returns.
5 TRICKED
/ MUST YOU LEAVE SO SOON?
Merlin finds himself in the house of his
sister and his brother in- law, her
husband Rydderch. He has been tricked by the
magic of the devil and as a
result expresses his anger and dismisses
their sentiments. As a sort of
revenge, or maybe in the long run to save his
sister from a worse fate, he
draws Rydderch’s attention to the leaf
in Ganeida’s hair and then goes on to
reveal the circumstances in which it got
there. Rydderch doesn’t know
whether to be more angry at his wife for
betraying him or at his brother in-
law for drawing his attention publicly to the situation. Finally Merlin is
asked to leave and he happily returns to the
forest.
6 FREE
FOR ANOTHER
Merlin’s wife, lonely and abandoned,
expresses her love for her husband but
also sings of a new love. She has met a man
who, although is rather strange,
seems to feel a passion for her that Merlin
never has done. She sends a
friend into the forest to ask Merlin if she
should wait for him to maybe one
day return or if she is free to marry her new
love. Merlin gives his consent
to the new marriage, but this is before he,
and Gwendolyn, realise that the
man in question is the devil himself.
7 THE
WEDDING MARCH
The demons prepare their master for his
forthcoming wedding and their dance
becomes a true wedding march as the bride,
Gwendolen, arrives with her
cortege. During the ceremony she is saved
from her fate by the appearance of
Merlin who challenges and seemingly defeats
the Devil.
Merlin evokes the powers of good against evil
to save the kingdom and
prepare to receive the chosen King Arthur.
8 OUR
TIME IS NOW
Now that it seems the devil has disappeared,
King Arthur knows that it is
time to renew his friendship and
collaboration with Merlin. The king and the
wiseman join forces to face the future
together.
Act two
The spirits of the forest dance to pay
hommage to their queen, Vivian.
2 MADMAN SINGS
Merlin expresses his doubts and fears,
understanding neither his true
identity, his true responsability or his true
power. He calls upon Arthur to
give him a sign, to help him understand, and
he calls upon a magic spirit, a
woman as yet unknown to him, a woman whose
destiny will be inextricably
linked with his.
3 SONG FOR THE NEW DAY (TREE OF LIFE)
Again the fairies and spirits of the forest
dance to celebrate the new day.
At a distance Merlin observes and in their
midst spots Vivian, the woman he
is destined to meet.
4 MERLIN AND VIVIAN
Destiny is fulfilled and Vivian asks Merlin
for a sign that his love will
remain true forever. He gives her a magic
necklace made from the leaves of a
golden willow tree, but she, greedy for
magic, demands to see more. After
creating a storm in her honour, Merlin is
compelled to teach her the secrets
of his arts in order to keep her love. Vivian
is an eager pupil and starts
to become as accomplished as her master.
5 BEYOND THE NIGHTMARES
Merlin’s sleep is disturbed when figures
from his past continue to torment
him. The nightmares are interrupted however
as a vision of King Arthur
appears: the phantoms fade into the night,
recognising that a greater
presence is now among them. The king summons
Merlin to his court to
participate in his wedding celebrations but
only the audience is aware of
an unwelcome intruder, about to join the
festivities.
6 HOW TO DO THE SLEEPING SPELL
The next day Merlin tells Vivian that he must
set off for the court of King
Arthur and therefore leave her for a short
period alone. Overcome with
jealousy and her desire for even more magic,
Vivian agrees to let him go on
condition that he teaches her one final spell: how to put a man to sleep
forever, thus saving him from death. She also
gives him a magic sword as a
gift for the king.
7-8 GLORIA / BLESSED WITH PEACE
The solemn ceremony in church on Christmas
day changes into a joyous
celebration of King Arthur and his new bride
Guinevere.
9 HOW LONG CAN SHE WAIT?
Alone in the forest, this time it is Vivian
who sings of her lonliness as
she waits for Merlin to return to her.
10 UNINVITED GUEST /
The wedding feast is dramatically interrupted
as the guests discover the
true identity of a mysterious character in
their midst: the devil.
devil in a long and difficult battle.He
finally manages to kill his
adversary but the king too remains mortally
wounded. Merlin is the only
person capable of saving Merlin but when he
is summoned to do so confesses
that he has given his magic away and that now
Vivian alone can save the
king.
11 WAIT FOR THE GOLDEN AGE
Knowing that her powers are needed, Vivian
comes swiftly to the court and,
using the magic that Merlin has given her, is
able to save the king from
death. In doing so however she must put him
into an eternal sleep. A sleep
which, as legend would have, lasts until such
time as the country again
needs Arthur's help. The entire court,
including Merlin are bound to follow
the king, suspended in a moment which will
end only when the world is again
ready, when the Golden Age has returned.