Histrionics is a new play written by James
Butler who has been influenced by the innocent hero and unsuspected
villain tradition of Commedia dell’arte. It is a comedy of
treachery and murder set in London at the turn of the 18th
Century.
Wolfio Pigram is an unworldly young man
with ambitions to be a playwright. He meets and becomes besotted by
the attractive Furtive Grange, an apparently struggling young
actress. A number of comic characters appear; Rolf an opportunistic
journalist; Crimbo a former soldier; Vole a hen pecked husband and
the Judge who is fond of a good hanging. Into this mix there is
Nimbus, the ghost of Wolfio’s recently deceased mother.
The play rattles along at speed. Some of
the lines do get lost as a result particularly in the opening scene
which I found confusing. The courtroom scene at the end is the
highlight of the play when the comedy, drama and quality of acting
reach their highest levels.
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