A Mad World My Masters

(Paperback)

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Description

Thomas Middletons outrageous city comedy: a brilliantly plotted, farcical satire of lies and lust, translated from Jacobean London to the Soho of the 1950s. A dashingly impecunious bachelor, Dick Follywit, in need of quick cash and a good time has to live on his wits so turns con-man to fool his rich uncle. He variously becomes a Lord, a high-class call girl and a poor actor. Meanwhile, Truly Kidman, a high-class call girl poor but quick-witted needs to fool and then marry a rich young man Sean Foley and Phil Porters edited version of Middletons play is faithful to the original text but adapts it to fit the seedy world of 1950s Soho, updating character names and including songs of the time to enhance the biting satire of lust and deception in the life of Bohemian London.

Reviews

...faithful to the smut, the wit, the bad puns and the general rumbustiousness of the city comedy - it's fun (and other things) with a capital F. * Financial Times *
An uproarious success akin to One Man, Two Guvnors... Foley (and his co-adaptor, Phil Porter) have most artfully edited, shortened and tweaked the gorgeously gamey Jacobean language of the original, putting a modern Carry On Gulling-style spin on the proceedings. * Independent *
Foley takes this tale of an unseemly scramble for sex and money in London of 1605, and transposes it, hilariously, to Fifties Soho...sections of the audience were left gasping at the ingenuity of it all. * Daily Mail ***** *
The play offers an ingeniously dovetailed double plot - the genius of Middleton's satire on a world obsessed by money and sex shines through * Guardian *

Author Bio

Thomas Middleton was a prolific and successful English Jacobean playwright and poet. A contemporary of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson, Middleton wrote over 30 plays, including A Mad World, My Masters, which was first performed in 1606. Phil Porter's recent plays include Blink (Soho Theatre), the Bruntwood Award-winning The Cracks in My Skin (Manchester Royal Exchange) and Stealing Sweets and Punching People (Theatre 503 and Off-Broadway). For the RSC he wrote Here Lies Mary Spindler (performed at Latitude Festival). He is currently working on a new play for the RSC. Sean Foley's recent theatre credits include The Ladykillers (Liverpool Playhouse/West End), currently on an extensive UK tour and What the Butler Saw (Vaudeville)