The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Alfred and Genevieve
Background
The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Alfred and Genevieve is a dramatic tragedy written collaboratively for the stage by playwright and director Martin Weedle and Professor Francis Chadwick of Westenford, Amasynia in A. R. 168. Its first performance was in A. R. 170, after initial problems of finding a suitable lead actor. In 170, while rehearsing for the play, Aloisius Treadwell suffered a grievous injury, breaking his left leg while falling through a rotten stage floor. Six months after the damage, after intense efforts to heal as much of the harm as possible, Treadwell originated the role of Alfred, Lord Harkness, playing it to great celebrity and success within the following year. By 172, however, he was forced to retire the role in favor of taking his father's seat on the Westenford Ruling Council.
The Plot of the Play
The play primarily concerns the historical events surrounding the death of one of Westenford's earlier Chief Magistrates, one Alfred, Lord Harkness, at the hand of his wife, Genevieve. Referencing events set in A. R. 35, the play chronicles the months before and the days immediately after the death of Lord Harkness, who was poisoned by his wife in an effort to win favor with an invading Colonel Leland from The Red Caps. The effort would ultimately backfire, nearly leading to the dissolution of Westenford with Leland's ships having an easy and unchecked advance on the then-growing town that was then without stable leadership on the death of its Chief Magistrate who was, at the time, the center holding the entire Ruling Council together. By the end of the play, Genevieve Harkness suffers the same fate of her husband at Leland's hands, leaving Amasynia's Chief Magistrate and his wife both deceased, with the future of the town uncertain. Outside of the play, though, Westenford's historical documents record that by A. R. 36, though, a mustered rally of forces would eventually fight off the invaders, allowing Westenford to establish itself as having a reasonable naval defense backed by an occasionally shrewd body of leaders.
