BECKET OR THE HONOR OF GOD
By Jean Anouilh
PRESS
Becket or the honor of God is not simply the best work that has been seen in the Muestra Nacional de Teatro, but a recovery of the theater as a space for the expression of ideas, and therefore, homage in honor of the theater.
Ana Laura Santamaría
Diario de Monterrey, Muestra Nacional de Teatro
When the eyes look at pictures in movements revealing images, one becomes convinced that the theater of the word is not necessarily at odds with the plastic arts or with corporal expression.
Victor Hugo Rascón Banda
Proceso
Behind every gesture, image, ambience, and sound, which appears spontaneously, one can sense a long, humble and passionate research work, in a context where the expressive power of the actor in the empty space is brought to its ultimate consequences.
Luz Emilia Aguilar Zinser
Reforma
TRAILER
AWARDS
1998: Best Experimental Theatre Director, Mexican Association of Theatre Critics
1998: Best Group Theatre Director, Theatre Journalists Association
1998: Best Young Actors, Theatre Journalists Association
1998: Best Co-Author, Theatre Journalists Association
SYNOPSIS
In the 12th century A.D, England’s Norman King Henry II appoints Thomas Becket, a Saxon and his best, most beloved friend, to the position of Lord Chancellor of the Realm. The King has acted against both his Queen’s wishes and the Norman nobility’s will.
The new Chancellor supports the sovereign’s orders to impose greater authority over the ecclesiastic hierarchies. The King later appoints Thomas as Archbishop of Canterbury. No longer Chancellor, Becket defends the Church. He refuses to accept the decrees that establish royal supremacy over ecclesiastic power, all of which lead to the long struggle between himself, who defends the Honor of God, and Henry, who defends the Kingdom’s honor.
Becket is charged with treason. He goes into exile in France; under the protection of Louis VII, but the Pope has him sent to a Cistercian monastery. Henry II allows Becket to return to England after having spent six years in exile. Becket carries out certain royal decrees, although he is still acclaimed by the English, so Henry decides to withhold a privilege from the Archbishop, a privilege that is rightfully his: the anointing of the heir to the throne. A group of nobles, loyal to the King, assassinate Becket while he prays in Canterbury Cathedral. King Henry does public penance at the Archbishop’s grave. Thomas Becket was canonized after his death.