1307 (the fall of the Knights Templar) Brixham Theatre

Brixham Theatre is about to be sent back in time, to the year 1307 and to bear witness to the fall of one of the most powerful and illusive organisations, The Knights Templar.

Historically a monastic order of crusading knights in the middle ages, the Knights Templar began from humble origins, but soon became a powerful, international organisation, answerable only to the Pope, and institutionally extremely wealthy. As the medieval crusades failed, so did the Templars, and in 1307, among accusations of heresy, and treason, the senior members of the Order were arrested. Legend tells that their wealth, seen by eyewitnesses only months before, had vanished. With the accusations of heresy upheld, the Order was disbanded, and the last Grandmaster, Jacques de Molay, burned at the stake in 1314.

Legends remain. What became of the Templars treasure? Were they really heretics, or victims of a political trap? Legends tell of them protecting various secrets, including those that could destroy the church – some of those legends relate to the Holy Grail; the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper, or lost gospels, or even that Jesus himself had descendants who lived on through the ages.

Based tightly on the history, and some of the theories, the film follows Hughes and Angelo, formally of Jacques de Molays inner council, from the fall of Acre, to Paris, and then as they go on the run to the Bristol preceptory, tonwards to Templecombe in Somerset and then to Trebeigh in Cornwall .

Linking these three historical southwest Templar holdings and the existing mysteries surrounding the Templars into the tale, the final secret is revealed….

This production, at the Brixham Theatre, also features an exhibition of the painstaking research behind the scriptwriting, of the inquisition against the Templars, and of their historical links to the Southwest
The show also features especially composed music by Grace Hancock from Exeter. (www.facebook.com/GraceHancockMusician)

Come and see the performance live at the Brixham Theatre on the 22nd and 23rd June 2018, from 7pm.

Further details about the South Devon Players can be found via their social media channels and also website.