Three Plays for Twelfth Grade: King Oedipus Had a Daughter; Cassandra; Flor and Blanchefleur

This book is a collection of three plays for high school students, specifically Class 12 (age 17 to 18 years), each of which has a strong female character.

Flor and Blanchefleur is based on a medieval legend that was sung by troubadours and went to become an archetype for other great romances such as Tristan and Isolde, and Romeo and Juliet. It would work well for Class 11 or Class 12, or for Classes 7 and 8 in a shortened version. It’s the story of the coming together of the lily and the rose and the initiation journey of its hero who has to unite fire and water. Flor is also the character who began the Grail stream in Europe, the grandfather of Parsifal.

Cassandra is the story of three very different women: Cassandra, Helen and Clytemnestra. Cassandra is other-worldly, and can see what will happen but isn’t believed. Helen is an opportunist, battling with her inner demons before murdering her husband. Clytemnestra is the wife (and ultimately murderer) of Agamemnon, general of the Greek forces and the main male role.

King Oedipus Had a Daughter is based on Sophocles’s Antigone, and explores why it is necessary to confront political tyranny in our modern world. It’s particularly suitable for Class 12 since the students are preparing to go out into the world, and this play is about the clash of ideals and reality. It incorporates ideas expressed by Eduard Schure in his book The Genesis of Tragedy.