Manx Literature
'Illiam Kodhere's Will' by Christopher R. Shimmin (Act II, Scene 1, p. 25)
‘Illiam Kodhere’s Will: A Manx Play’ by Christopher Shimmin. First performed by the Peel Players at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas, 13 January 1913 (with Shimmin himself in the part of Dan Quilliam). It was published in 1913 for Yn Cheshaght Gailckagh by W. K. Palmer of Peel.
The plot (set in Dalby) is easily summarised:
lliam Kodhere repents for his grasping life and so writes a will that leaves his farm and livestock to his illegitimate son, Dan. Kodhere’s wife hears of this and tries to hide the will, but it is discovered by Dan’s sweetheart, which enables them to get married and live happily.
However, this is perhaps misleading as to the feel of the play, which spends a great deal of time on place, character and mood: the business of Kodhere’s writing his will is done within the first 14 pages; then follows 16 pages mostly of an evening’s conversation, story-telling and singing around the fireplace; then there are the final 11 pages where Kodhere’s wife makes her first appearance, the will is hidden and found, and the happy ending achieved.
This unusual weighting of the narrative makes it clear that a major point of the play was to put Manx culture and way of life on stage, which is an amazing thing to attempt. Understanding this makes this play especially interesting. It also gives a good idea of the sort of environment of the Manx Cultural Revival that this play was created in, under the instigation of Sophia Morrison’s Peel Players.
It should also be mentioned that Shimmin is a masterful playwright whose touch at times is staggering. He is also capable of some wonderfully strong lines, as for example in Nora’s taste in Manx folk tunes (as opposed to the works of the likes of Haydn Wood) in Act II Scene 1:
“I like the songs that sailors make better than those they sing at concerts about “The Rolling Sea.” There’s something strong, and fresh, and free in the real sea songs. You cannot buy the music or the words in the shops, either. The songs make you feel the surge of the sea, and the heaving of the waves. They remind you of the sea breezes, and the gulls; and they make you feel that life in the open air is a beautiful thing.”
Another interesting point to note is the character Chalse, described in the stage directions as “an old wandering beggarman [...] - a mystic storyteller.” This is almost certainly the same character met in person by T. E. Brown who immortalised Chalse in his poem, ‘Chalse a Killey’, written in around 1875. T.E. Brown’s Chalse died in around 1870, the year in which Shimmin was born. (Hall Caine also apparently met Chalse in his youth, and he featured him in both his memoirs and in ‘The Master of Man’).
Chalse has some of the most moving lines of the play, and his description of his experience of the Lhiannan Shee is incredibly beautiful. Worth quoting are his lines from Act II, Scene 1: “Life is more beautiful than most people know, and the loveliest things are for nothing. Money won’t buy you the best things.” And also, from the same scene, “I’ve been seeing and hearing strange things all my life. Life is very strange, and very wonderful.”
Shimmin’s Wikipedia page:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_R._Shimmin
Shimmin’s subsequent play, ‘Luss ny Graih’:
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mannin/v2p097.htm
The song, Hop-Tu-Naa, briefly supposedly created by Huan Cowley, is from A.W. Moore’s ‘Manx Ballads’ (1896):
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/mb1896/p068.htm
T.E. Brown’s poem, ‘Chalse a Killey’:
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/people/writers/teb/p013.htm
'Illiam Kodhere's Will' by Christopher R. Shimmin (Act II, Scene 1, p. 25)
‘Illiam Kodhere’s Will: A Manx Play’ by Christopher Shimmin. First performed by the Peel Players at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas, 13 January 1913 (with Shimmin himself in the part of Dan Quilliam). It was published in 1913 for Yn Cheshaght Gailckagh by W. K. Palmer of Peel.
The plot (set in Dalby) is easily summarised:
lliam Kodhere repents for his grasping life and so writes a will that leaves his farm and livestock to his illegitimate son, Dan. Kodhere’s wife hears of this and tries to hide the will, but it is discovered by Dan’s sweetheart, which enables them to get married and live happily.
However, this is perhaps misleading as to the feel of the play, which spends a great deal of time on place, character and mood: the business of Kodhere’s writing his will is done within the first 14 pages; then follows 16 pages mostly of an evening’s conversation, story-telling and singing around the fireplace; then there are the final 11 pages where Kodhere’s wife makes her first appearance, the will is hidden and found, and the happy ending achieved.
This unusual weighting of the narrative makes it clear that a major point of the play was to put Manx culture and way of life on stage, which is an amazing thing to attempt. Understanding this makes this play especially interesting. It also gives a good idea of the sort of environment of the Manx Cultural Revival that this play was created in, under the instigation of Sophia Morrison’s Peel Players.
It should also be mentioned that Shimmin is a masterful playwright whose touch at times is staggering. He is also capable of some wonderfully strong lines, as for example in Nora’s taste in Manx folk tunes (as opposed to the works of the likes of Haydn Wood) in Act II Scene 1:
“I like the songs that sailors make better than those they sing at concerts about “The Rolling Sea.” There’s something strong, and fresh, and free in the real sea songs. You cannot buy the music or the words in the shops, either. The songs make you feel the surge of the sea, and the heaving of the waves. They remind you of the sea breezes, and the gulls; and they make you feel that life in the open air is a beautiful thing.”
Another interesting point to note is the character Chalse, described in the stage directions as “an old wandering beggarman [...] - a mystic storyteller.” This is almost certainly the same character met in person by T. E. Brown who immortalised Chalse in his poem, ‘Chalse a Killey’, written in around 1875. T.E. Brown’s Chalse died in around 1870, the year in which Shimmin was born. (Hall Caine also apparently met Chalse in his youth, and he featured him in both his memoirs and in ‘The Master of Man’).
Chalse has some of the most moving lines of the play, and his description of his experience of the Lhiannan Shee is incredibly beautiful. Worth quoting are his lines from Act II, Scene 1: “Life is more beautiful than most people know, and the loveliest things are for nothing. Money won’t buy you the best things.” And also, from the same scene, “I’ve been seeing and hearing strange things all my life. Life is very strange, and very wonderful.”
Shimmin’s Wikipedia page:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_R._Shimmin
Shimmin’s subsequent play, ‘Luss ny Graih’:
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/mannin/v2p097.htm
The song, Hop-Tu-Naa, briefly supposedly created by Huan Cowley, is from A.W. Moore’s ‘Manx Ballads’ (1896):
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/mb1896/p068.htm
T.E. Brown’s poem, ‘Chalse a Killey’:
www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/people/writers/teb/p013.htm