The King Goes Forth

[sawyl]

Guess what today's out of hours work paid for? Yup, I bought myself a copy of Aulis Sallinen's The King Goes Forth to France. Based on Paavo Haavikko's radio play Kuningas lähtee Ranskaan, but with a different ending, the story is part science fiction, part historical allegory, part surreal drama.

In the first act, the Prime Minister has decided that the Prince needs a wife and presents him with four choices, two of whom are called Caroline and two of whom are called Anne. The Prince becomes king and decides to abandon England, which is beset by ice, by leading his people across the frozen Channel to France. In the second act, the King secretly marries a German princess and continues his march through France, following the route taken by Edward III. A battle is fought at Crécy, the English win and decide to march on Calais.

The final act finds the King laying siege to Calais as events descend into surreality. The King threatens an archer who wishes to leave the army and eventually orders him shackled to the Caroline with the Thick Mane — the mad Caroline. The next morning, the camp wakes up to find that their dreams have become interlinked. The Burghers of Calais come to beg for mercy. They are spared by the King and ordered to join him on his march to Paris to hold the French King to account for breaking the age old laws of war — attacking at night; attacking in the rain, when the English archers couldn't keep their bow strings dry. The story ends with the news that spring has finally arrived.

Sallinen's score is interesting, the performance by an all Finnish cast is good and all for a deeply reasonable price too. A most worth while purchase...