INTRODUCTION

This stage version of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress was a Coventry Polytechnic Community Theatre production. A new stage adaption by Keith Taylor (who taught Languages, Politics and History) with original music by Keith Taylor and Kevon Perry, designed by John Yeadon. It played at Warwick University Arts Centre and Bowen West Community Theatre in Bedford in 1990.

John Yeadon was responsible for translating Christian’s journey into visual form.

Some fifty roles are played by twelve masked players. Influenced by the Commedia Della’Arte and Joan Miro’s El Merma, Yeadon with a group of Coventry Fine Art students designed and made the masks and constructed the gigantic ‘puppets’ of Giant Despair and Apollyon the Destroyer.

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GALLERIES:

Pages from Yeadon’s sketchbook

Preparatory work

Performance of the play

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“Original and exciting theatre… an innovative form of musical drama… an authentic and most creative dramatisation…John Yeadon, director of design, created an impressive and imposing collection of monsters whose limbs reached threateningly over the audience”. Coventry Evening Telegraph

“The Community Theatre looked to the ancient Mystery and Morality plays for inspiration…design director John Yeadon puts much effort into the monsters and devils who seek to disrupt Christian’s journey”. Bedfordshire Times

“It’s a challenging design task,” Yeadon said. “On his journey, Christian encounters monsters, devils, and a whole list of bizarre and surrealistic characters. I’m trying to give the whole thing a feel of the Commedia Della’Arte.”