In 1661 and 1662 Moliere presented the plays The School for Husbands (this one) and then The School for Wives. "The central situations of the two have much in common: the arbitrary and jealous lover to whom circumstances have given almost the authority of a husband: the simple ward rescued from physical constraint by the unfettered cunning of love." In between writing the two plays he got married. Listen to both and see if this comedic genius of the farce changed his attitude. - Summary by ToddHW and The Translator
Cast list:
Sganarelle: Nemo
Ariste, his brother: ToddHW
Valere, lover to Isabella: Peter Tucker
Ergaste, servant to Valere: Tomas Peter
A Magistrate: alanmapstone
A Notary: Zames Curran
Isabella: Sonia
Leonor, her sister: Leanne Yau
Lisette, maid to Isabella: Availle
Stage Directions: Sandra Schmit
Edited by: ToddHW
3 episodes
In 1661 and 1662 Moliere presented the plays The School for Husbands and then The School for Wives (this one). "The central situations of the two have much in common: the arbitrary and jealous lover to whom circumstances have given almost the authority of a husband: the simple ward rescued from physical constraint by the unfettered cunning of love." In between writing the two plays Moliere got married. Listen to both and see if this comedic genius of the farce changed his attitude. - Summary by ToddHW and The Translator
Cast list:
Arnolphe, alias Monsieur De La Souche: Peter Tucker
Chrysalde, friend to Arnolphe: ToddHW
Horace, in love with Agnes: Tomas Peter
Enrique, brother-in-law of Chrysalde: Chuck Williamson
Oronte, father to Horace and a great friend of Arnolphe: Nemo
Alain, a country fellow, servant to Arnolphe: alanmapstone
A Notary: Zames Curran
Agnes, a young innocent girl, brought up by Arnolphe: Leanne Yau
Georgette, a country-woman, servant to Arnolphe: Sonia
Stage Directions: Availle
Edited By: ToddHW
5 episodes
Sir Launcelot Greaves goes around the country with his comic squire, trying to be a knight and perform good deeds. This novel is written in the style of Don Quixote by the author of The Expedition Of Humphry Clinker and other 18th century picaresque novels. Great for those who love wise satires. - Summary by Stav Nisser.
25 episodes
Esta novela de Rosalía de Castro, es considerada por la crítica como la más interesante de la autora. Calificada por ella como "cuento extraño". Compuesta por veinticuatro capítulos a modo dramático, entre un hombre y una musa: "Ya que has acudido a mi llamamiento, ¡oh musa!, escúchame atenta y propicia, y haz que se cumpla mi más ferviente deseo" La obra es una "sátira fantástica" a la hipocresía de la sociedad madrileña. - Summary by Montse González.
29 episodes
The setup here is that Moliere and his troupe have been sent for by the King to come perform at Versailles. But instead of the piece they had prepared, the King has just asked for an entirely new piece - to be ready later that same day! So all the action of the play takes place backstage as Moliere has to come up with a story and the troupe has to select and prepare roles in a mad panic. Many of the comments in the banter between actors concern personages from Moliere's time - we don't necessarily know them but the biting of the satire still comes clearly through. - Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
Moliere, a ridiculous Marquis: Thomas A. Copeland
Brecourt, a man of Quality: Tomas Peter
La Grange, a ridiculous Marquis: Nemo
Du Croisy, a poet: alanmapstone
La Thorilliere, a fidgetty Marquis: Chuck Williamson
Bejart and the Busybodies: ToddHW
Mademoiselle Duparc, a ceremonious Marchioness: Sonia
Mademoiselle Bejart, a prude: Beth Thomas
Mademoiselle Debrie, a sage coquette: Eva Davis
Mademoiselle Moliere, a satirical wit: Sandra Schmit
Mademoiselle Du Croisy, a whining plague: Availle
Mademoiselle Herve, a conceited chambermaid: Leanne Yau
Stage Directions: Zames Curran
Edited by: ToddHW
1 episodes
Alceste, the misanthrope, hates everyone including himself. But unlike in many pure farces with their cliche stock characters, the characters here are much more well rounded, and who knows - Alceste might actually grow and change throughout the play. "Those who admired noble thoughts, select language, accurate deliniations of character, and a perfect and entertaining style, placed this comedy from the very beginning where it is generally put, with the common consent of all students of sound literature, in the foremost rank of the good comedies of Moliere." - Summary by Translator and ToddHW
Cast list:
Alceste, in love with Celimene: Nemo
Philinte, his friend: ToddHW
Oronte, in love with Celimene: alanmapstone
Celimene, beloved by Alceste: Leanne Yau
Eliante, her cousin: Sonia
Arsinoe, Celimene's friend: Eva Davis
Acaste, Marquis: Tomas Peter
Clitandre, Marquis: Sean Lally
Basque, servant to Celimene: PaulHW
Dubois, servant to Alceste: RecordingPerson
An Officer of the Marechaussee: Roger Melin
Stage Directions: KHand
Edited by: ToddHW
5 episodes
An inferior devil, Pug, asks Satan to send him to Earth to tempt men to Evil. But when Pug arrives in 1616 London and sets himself at the Squire Fabian Fitzdottrel, he finds Fabian currently beset by con men, cheats, connivers, thieves, villains, and seductresses - a delightful mix of cunning criminality in a world that already has far more vice in it than anything Pug is prepared to offer. - Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
Satan, the great Devil: alanmapstone
Pug, the less Devil: Sonia
Iniquity, the Vice: Nemo
Fabian Fitzdottrel, a Squire of Norfolk: Tomas Peter
Meercraft, the Projector: Hamlet
Everill, his Champion: Algy Pug
Wittipol, a young Gallant: ToddHW
Eustace Manly, his Friend: Chuck Williamson
Engine, a Broker: Rob Board
Trains, the Projector's Man: Jason in Panama
Thomas Gilthead, a Goldsmith: Caleb Tol
Plutarchus, his Son: Eva Davis
Sir Paul Eitherside, a Lawyer, and Justice: Beth Thomas
Ambler, Gentle-Usher to Lady Tailbush: Kurt
Sledge, a Smith, the Constable: Joseph Tabler
Shackles, Keeper of Newgate: Bruce Kachuk
Mrs. Frances Fitzdottrel: Sandra Schmit
Lady Eitherside: Leanne Yau
Lady Tailbush, the Lady Projectress: Linda Olsen Fitak
Pitfall, her Woman: Availle
Serjant: Roger Melin
Keeper 1: Victor Villarraza
Keeper 2: Adriana Sacciotto
Keeper 3: TJ Burns
Keeper 4: Owen Cook
Stage Directions: sawasawaya
and: Elizabeth Martinson
Edited By: ToddHW
5 episodes
Στην αρχαια Αθηνα οι γυναικες αποφασισαν να παρουν την εξουσια απο τους αντρες για να λυσουν τα προβληματα του κρατους και των πολιτων. Λεγεται οτι ο Αριστοφανης θελει να κανει μια κριτικη στο καθεστως της σοσιαλιστικης μητριαρχιας και του κοινωνισμου-σοσιαλισμου.Τελικα ο Αριστοφανης ηταν αριστοκρατικος και ολιγαρχικος ή αναρχικος και κρυπτοκομμουνιστης; - Summary by karampas1968
5 episodes
This is a satirical novel written by Edwin A. Abbott, first published in 1884. Abbott uses a two-dimensional world, with himself as the protagonist, known simply as "A Square", to deride the Victorian aristocracy and its hierarchies. But the book has retained its value throughout the years for its unique portrayal of a two-dimensional world, and how a Sphere introduces the Square to the incomprehensible possibility of a third dimension. Once the square fully understands the third dimension, he suggests to the Sphere that even a fourth, fifth, or sixth dimension could exist. But the Sphere sends the square back to his two-dimensional world, where he cannot convince anyone of the existence of a three dimensional world. - Summary by Linda Olsen Fitak
Read by Linda Olsen Fitak and Aaron White.
23 episodes
The Physician In Spite of Himself … is written in a most unbounded spirit of mirth, the matrimonial breezes wafting a certain amount of refreshing coolness throughout it all. The way in which Sganarelle is dubbed, or rather drubbed a doctor, is highly amusing; and the cure of the dumb girl, and the use which she makes of her recovered speech, contains a philosophical lesson which may be sometimes applied to the way in which nouveaux riches spread their newly acquired wealth. The learned and anatomical disquisitions between Sganarelle and Geronte are also very entertaining, as well as the growth of greed in the rustic physician. - Summary by The Translator
Cast list:
Geronte, father to Lucinda: ToddHW
Leandre, Lucinda's lover: aravagarwal
Sganarelle, husband to Martine: Jason in Panama
Monsieur Robert, Sganarelle's neighbor: Roger Melin
Lucas, husband to Jacqueline: Tomas Peter
Valere, Geronte's servant: alanmapstone
Thibaut, peasant: Son of the Exiles
Perrin, his son: Owen Cook
Lucinda, Geronte's daughter: Leanne Yau
Martine, Sganarelle's wife: Devorah Allen
Jacqueline, nurse at Geronte's, and Lucas' wife: Sonia
Stage Directions: Sandra Schmit
Editor: ToddHW
3 episodes
Arms and the Man is a comedy written by George Bernard Shaw, and was first produced in 1894 and published in 1898, and has become one of the most popular of his plays. Like his other works, Arms and the Man questions conventional values and uses war and love as his satirical targets. He delightfully pops the bubble of the 'brave soldier' always wishing to charge into battle and shows (I think) how people stay the same whether in uniform or not and are not magically changed into different people. A cautious soldier can be just as admirable as a reckless one. - Summary by Phil Chenevert
3 episodes
Mr. Pinero holds that farce should treat of probable people placed in possible circumstances, but regarded from a point of view which exaggerates their sentiments and magnifies their foibles. In this light it is permitted to this class of play, not only to deal with ridiculous incongruities of incident and character, but to satirise society, and to wring laughter from those possible distresses of life which might trace their origin to fallacies of feeling and extravagances of motive. - Summary by Introduction
Cast list:
Right Honorable Sir Julian Twombley, GCMG, MP (Secretary of State for the ____ Department): ToddHW
Lady Twombley: Sonia
Brooke Twombley (their son): Tomas Peter
Imogen (their daughter): Leanne Yau
Dowager Lady Countess of Drumdurris: TJ Burns
Lady Euphemia Vibart (her daughter): Devorah Allen
Earl of Drumdurris (in the Guards): Scott Kelley
Egidia, Countess of Drumdurris: Jael Baldwin
Lady Macphail: Beth Thomas
Sir Colin Macphail of Ballocheevin (her son): Chuck Williamson
Valentine White (Lady Twombley's nephew): Kurt
Honorable Mrs. Gaylustre (a young widow trading as Mauricette et Cie, 17A Plunkett Street, Mayfair: Linda Olsen Fitak
Mr. Joseph Lebanon: Son of the Exiles
Mr. Melton (Sir Julian's Private Secretary): Craig Franklin
The Munkittrick: alanmapstone
Miss Munkittrick: Eva Davis
Probyn (a servant): DrPGould
Angele, a French nurse: Sandra Schmit
Stage Directions: Larry Wilson
Edited by: ToddHW
4 episodes
Four most fashionable doctors are called in by Sganarelle to cure his daughter, but instead they argue about everything and Sganarelle is driven to the streets where he finds a quack and his daughter's disguised lover.
Moliere: "This is only a slight impromptu, a simple pencil sketch, which it has pleased the King to have made into an entertainment. It is the most hastily composed of all those written by order of his Majesty; and when I say that it was sketched, written, learned, and acted in five days, I shall only be speaking the truth."
This is a spoken version, without the original songs and dances to the music of Lully. - Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
Comedy: TJ Burns
Music: Rapunzelina
The Ballet: Availle
Sganarelle, father to Lucinde: Larry Wilson
Clitandre, in love with Lucinde: Tomas Peter
Monsieur Guillaume, dealer in hangings: Victor Villarraza
Monsieur Josse, goldsmith: Craig Franklin
Monsieur Tomes, a physician: Sonia
Monsieur Desfonandres, a physician: ToddHW
Monsieur Macroton, a physician: Son of the Exiles
Monsieur Bahis, a physician: DrPGould
Monsieur Filerin, a physician: alanmapstone
A Notary: Zames Curran
Lucinde, Sganarelle's daughter: Jessie Percival
Aminta, Sganarelle's neighbor: SaraHale
Lucretia, Sganarelle's niece: Leanne Yau
Lisette, maid to Lucinde: Eva Davis
A Quack: Nemo
Stage Directions: Sandra Schmit
Editor: ToddHW
3 episodes
Esta obra narra la vida de David Copperfield desde su infancia hasta la madurez. El padre de David muere seis meses antes de que él naciera, y siete años después, su madre se vuelve a casar, pero David y su padrastro no se llevan bien, y DAvid es enviado por ello a un internado. A medida que David va labrando su vida, nos encontramos con una deslumbrante variedad de amigos, compañeros, familiares, el amor, los celos,la miseria, la avaricia, la traición, unos personajes inolvidables y otros que no querremos recordar, hasta el descubrimiento, al final de su vida, de una felicidad completa. (Resumen de Basquetteur)
61 episodes
This 1910 short work is by the English-born American humorist, satirist, and illustrator Oliver Herford, aided by another caricaturist and illustrator, John Cecil Clay. Herford’s books were usually short and quite popular in their time. He is a master of the witty remark and joke, i.e., “Many are called but few get up” and “Only the young die good”. Cupid’s Cyclopedia is a jesting alphabetical list of words and their definitions dealing with the course of true love; the book closes with an essay on the same subject entitled “Amoria,” a tongue-in-cheek imaginative travelogue on “the most ancient and honorable country upon the earth’s surface.” The text has many illustrations that make the author’s thoughts more entertaining and often clearer. There is an appendix, but the text indicates that it has been removed. (Summary by David Wales)
3 episodes
Moliere: "Never was any Dramatic performance so hurried as this; and it is a thing, I believe, quite new, to have a comedy planned, finished, got up, and played in a fortnight. I do not say this to boast of an impromptu, or to pretend to any reputation on that account: but only to prevent certain people, who might object that I have not introduced here all the species of Bores who are to be found. I know that the number of them is great, both at the Court and in the City, and that, without episodes, I might have composed a comedy of five acts and still have had matter to spare."
So with that, who needs a plot? - Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
Naiad: Leanne Yau
Eraste, in love with Orphise: Tomas Peter
Damis, guardian to Orphise: Rob Board
Lisandre, a bore: Son of the Exiles
Alcandre, a bore: Sandra Schmit
Alcippe, a bore: alanmapstone
Dorante, a bore: Nemo
Caritides, a bore: Larry Wilson
Ormin, a bore: Roger Melin
Filinte, a bore: gawoozle
La Montagne, servant to Eraste: ToddHW
L'Epine, servant to Damis: Chuck Williamson
La Riviere: Joseph Tabler
Orphise, in love with Eraste: TJ Burns
Orante, a female bore: Sonia
Climene, a female bore: Eva Davis
Stage Directions: April Walters
Edited by: ToddHW
3 episodes
A very early Moliere. From the Translator: "In this piece the plot is carried on ... by a servant, Mascarille, who is the first original personage Molière has created; he is not a mere imitation of the valets of the Italian or classical comedy; he has not the coarseness and base feelings of the servants of his contemporaries, but he is a lineal descendant of Villon, a free and easy fellow, not over nice in the choice or execution of his plans, but inventing new ones after each failure, simply to keep in his hand; not too valiant, except perhaps when in his cups, rather jovial and chaffy, making fun of himself and everybody else besides, no respecter of persons or things, and doomed probably not to die in his bed." - Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
LELIO, son to PANDOLPHUS: Leanne Yau
LEANDER, a young gentleman of good birth: Tomas Peter
ANSELMO, an old man: Sonia
PANDOLPHUS, an old man: Nemo
TRUFALDIN, an old man: ToddHW
ANDRÈS, a supposed gipsy: Son of the Exiles
MASCARILLE, servant to Lelio: Larry Wilson
ERGASTE, a servant: alanmapstone
A MESSENGER: Zames Curran
CELIA, slave to TRUFALDIN: TJ Burns
HIPPOLYTA, daughter to ANSELMO: Eva Davis
Stage Directions: Devorah Allen
Edited by: ToddHW
5 episodes
This play tells the story of Candida, the wife of a famous clergyman, the Reverend James Mavor Morell. Morell is a Christian Socialist, popular in the Church of England, but Candida is responsible for much of his success. Candida returns home briefly from a trip to London with Eugene Marchbanks, a young poet who wants to rescue her from what he presumes to be her dull family life.
Marchbanks is in love with Candida and believes she deserves something more than just complacency from her husband. He considers her divine, and his love eternal. In his view, it is quite improper and humiliating for Candida to have to attend to petty household chores. Morell believes Candida needs his care and protection, but the truth is quite the contrary. Ultimately, Candida must choose between the two gentlemen. She reasserts her preference for the "weaker of the two" who, after a momentary uncertainty, turns out to be her husband Morell. Note that the pronunciation of Candida is how Shaw himself preferred it be pronounced. [wikipedia and phil chenevert]
3 episodes
Lucas Cleeve is living in Venice with a widow, Mrs. Ebbsmith. His relatives do not accept this arrangement and come to intervene. Note that this is NOT a farce - the hypocrisy is not played for laughs. - Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
Antonio Poppi, Venetian servant: Francesco Carzedda
Nella, Venetian servant: Sonia
Fortune, a manservant: alanmapstone
Mrs. Gertrude Thorpe: TJ Burns
Rev. Amos Winterfield: Roger Melin
Dr. Kirke: ToddHW
Sir George Brodrick: Nemo
Agnes Ebbsmith: Eva Davis
Lucas Cleeve (Acts 1 and 2): Tina Nuzzi
Lucas Cleeve (Acts 3 and 4): Foon
The Duke of St. Olpherts: Tomas Peter
Hephzibah, Lady's maid: Crln Yldz Ksr
Sir Sandford Cleeve: Rob Board
Sybil Cleeve: Leanne Yau
Stage Directions: Larry Wilson
Edited by: ToddHW
4 episodes
"The characters are well delineated, and fathers, lovers, mistresses, and servants all move about amidst a complication of errors from which there is no visible disentangling. The conversation between Valère and Ascanio in man's clothes, the mutual begging pardon of Albert and Polydore, the natural astonishment of Lucile, accused in the presence of her father, and the stratagem of Éraste to get the truth from his servants, are all described in a masterly manner, whilst the tiff between Éraste and Lucile, which gives the title to the piece, as well as their reconciliation, are considered among the best scenes of this play." - Summary by The Translator
Cast list:
ÉRASTE, in love with Lucile: Nemo
ALBERT, father to Lucile: ToddHW
GROS-RENÉ, servant to Éraste: Roger Melin
VALÈRE, son to Polydore: Adam DeFord
POLYDORE, father to Valère: Larry Wilson
MASCARILLE, servant to Valère: Tomas Peter
METAPHRASTUS, a pedant: alanmapstone
LA RAPIÈRE, a bully: Leanne Yau
LUCILE, daughter to Albert: Eva Davis
ASCANIO, Albert's daughter, in man's clothes: Beth Thomas
FROSINE, confidant to Ascanio: TJ Burns
MARINETTE, maid to Lucile: Sonia
Stage Directions: Sandra Schmit
Edited by: ToddHW
5 episodes
From Galileo to Grover Cleveland, from wasps to cattle, from dinosaurs to the railroad, Bill Nye's wide ranging wit pokes gentle fun at everything and everybody. This book is another wonderful collection of his thoughts on late 19th century America. - Summary by Tom Penn
35 episodes
Einer der Klassiker der Weltliteratur, der seit Generationen Groß und Klein fesselt: Lemuel Gulliver bereist ferne Länder und erlebt dabei unerhörte Abenteuer, er trifft auf phantastische Einwohner unbekannter, ferner Gegenden, wobei alle diese skurrilen Erlebnisse immer wieder satirisch die damalige (und auch unsere heutige) Gesellschaft reflektieren. Eine ungemein phantasiereiches Buch, das überaus unterhaltsam ist, allerdings auch jede Menge Stoff zum Nachdenken bietet und über ein reines Kinderbuch weit hinausgeht. - Summary by Boris
41 episodes
Set in the early 1890s, at a fashionable summer resort somewhere on the East Coast of the United States, this book tells the story of Mr. Twelvemough, an author who has been selected to function as host to a visitor from the faraway island of Altruria. The visitor, Mr. Homos, has come all the way to the United States, a country which prides itself on democracy and equality, to experience everyday life in America firsthand, and to see for himself how the principle that "All men are created equal" is being put into practice. Due to Altruria's secluded existence, very little is known about the island, so Twelvemough and his circle of acquaintances, all of whom are staying at the same resort hotel, seem more eager to learn about Altruria than to explain American life and institutions. To their dismay, it becomes gradually clear that the United States is greatly lagging behind Altruria in practically every aspect of life, be it political, economic, cultural or moral. Summary from Wikipedia
13 episodes
The History of Troilus and Cressida has long baffled critics and audiences alike for its inconsistent tone, which ranges from bawdy comedy to somber tragedy, as well as its decidedly unheroic and unsympathetic cast of characters. It is also a work with a multivalent focus, jumping between different subplots and locations so that even the titular characters become lost in the shuffle of warcraft, manipulation, betrayal, and thwarted machismo. Not only do we follow the young Trojan warrior Troilus on his quest to woo the noncommittal Cressida, but also the Greek leader Agamemnon and his plot to sway the proud Achilles into battle, as well as the scurrilous fool Thersites, who rails against the hypocrisy of everyone involved in a war born (and continued) out of vanity and a bunch of overactive libidos. It is a play that caustically skewers the romance and valour of the Trojan War, as told by the likes of Homer, Chaucer, and Lydgate, while experimenting with the dramatic form in such a way that modern resonances can be found even today.And to perform it all? Three men (Craig Franklin, Tomas Peter, and Brad "Hamlet" Filippone) and one woman (Sonia), determined to give you a performance of this peculiar "problem play" that you will never forget. You thought you knew your Shakespeare? Well, think again! - Summary by Tomas Peter
Cast list:
Tomas Peter: Narrator; Troilus; Achilles; Ulysses; Calchas; Deiphobus; Servant to Troilus; Fourth Soldier.
Brad “Hamlet” Filippone: Prologue; Agamemnon; Hector; Diomedes; Thersites; Alexander; Antenor; Servant to Paris; Third Soldier.
Craig Franklin: Pandarus; Ajax; Nestor; Paris; Menelaus; Andromache; Helenus; Second Soldier.
Sonia: Cressida; Aeneas; Patroclus; Cassandra; Priam; Helen; Margarelon; Myrmidon; Servant to Diomedes; First Soldier.
6 episodes
One of the most notorious Restoration comedies in existence, William Wycherley’s The Country Wife is a lively and riotous exploration of courtly and city life in the seventeenth century, which was rife with unremitting sexual intrigue and conquest. For the basis of his plot, Wycherley here borrows heavily from the work of Molière, but abandons the French master’s unity and economy by introducing several interlocking storylines and characters, all of them clamoring for attention amidst Wycherley’s hard-hitting colloquial dialogue and double entendres. The main plot follows the clever town rake Horner, who feigns impotence in order to seduce women of quality and cuckold their unwitting husbands. One woman who takes interest in him is Margery, a seemingly naive country girl married to the pathologically jealous Pinchwife. Her desire to pursue an illicit affair with Horner yields a multitude of complications and misunderstandings, many of which are left scandalously unresolved by the time the final line is spoken.With startlingly frank explorations of gender dynamics, marital structures, female autonomy, misogyny, and seventeenth-century societal obligations, as well as an infamous “china scene” positively dripping with innuendo, The Country Wife remains a classic of its genre that continues to invite fresh and exciting interpretations with each new performance. - Summary by Tomas Peter
Horner: Tomas PeterHarcourt: Son of the ExilesDorilant: MajorToastPinchwife: Scotty SmithSparkish: ToddHWSir Jasper Fidget: NemoBoy: Melanie JensenQuack: Alan MapstoneMargery Pinchwife: AvailleAlithea, sister of Pinchwife: Leanne YauLady Fidget / Bookseller: Beth ThomasDainty Fidget, sister of Sir Jasper: FoonMrs. Squeamish: SoniaOld Lady Squeamish: Eva DavisLucy, Alithea's maid: TJ BurnsNarrator: Campbell SchelpEditor: Tomas Peter
5 episodes
.Mrs. Warren's Profession is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893, and first performed in London in 1902 but was banned after two performances because of the profession talked about. The play is about a former prostitute, now a madam (brothel proprietor), who attempts to come to terms with her disapproving daughter. It illustrates Shaw's belief that the act of prostitution was not caused by moral failure but by economic necessity. It also has a lot to say about the hypocrisy of English society that profited from many despised and illegal professions and used people in despicable ways but pretended to look down on them. This was probably why it was banned, not because of the 'profession' of Mrs. Warren, but because it exposed very highly placed people doing nasty things to make money. - Summary by phil chenevert and Wikipedia
4 episodes
John Macmillan Brown was born in New Zealand and a University professor, wrote under the pseudonym Godfrey Sweven. An excerpt from the Introduction: "Absorbed in contemplation of its sublimity, I sat for a moment on a rock that rose out of the bush. I almost leapt from it, startled; a voice, unheralded, fell like a falling star through the soundless air. I had heard no footstep, no snap of trodden twig or rustle Of reluctant branch. My senses were so thrilled with the sound that its purport shot past them. There at the base of the rock stood the strangest figure that ever met my eyes." - Summary by Kirk202
39 episodes
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for an author to dissolve the bands which have connected him with his publishers, a decent respect for the opinions of mankind requires that he should declare the causes which impel him to the separation." So begins the alleged author's introduction to this work, which chronicles the conflict between a female author and her publisher. This conflict really did happen, although the details (dates, names, etc.) in this book are fictitious. For more information about the actual situation, see the author's Wikipedia article.
15 episodes
"The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle having been ratified ... and peace being assured ... Louis XIV resolved to give a festival in his favorite gardens of Versailles. Moliere's comedy, George Dandin, formed the chief entertainment." The plot: A wife comes home rather late, finds the door shut, and threatens to kill herself if her husband does not let her in. She pretends to do so; the good man rushes out quite terrified; the wife, meanwhile, sneaks in, and he is in his turn locked out. Add in her idiot parents (Sotenville means Idiot In Town) and this should be the usual madcap fun.
- Summary by Translator and ToddHW
Cast list:
George Dandin, a rich farmer, husband to Angelique: MajorToast
Monsieur De Sotenville, a country gentleman, Angelique's father: ToddHW
Clitandre, in love with Angelique: Tomas Peter
Lubin, a peasant, Clitandre's servant: alanmapstone
Colin, George Dandin's servant: Stefan Von Blon
Angelique, George Dandin's wife: Bhavya
Madam De Sotenville: Sonia
Claudine, Angelique's maid: Leanne Yau
Stage Directions: TJ Burns
Edited by: ToddHW
3 episodes
The Premier has decided that being married would be good for his image. He asks his stenographer for advice: (Premier) Good. Just jot me down a precis of the points made by your fifteen admirers when proposing - the points that specially appealed to you. (Stenographer) I'm afraid, sir, that what most appealed to me could not be expressed in words. In fact, it wasn't words. But no, sir. The subject is too sacred.... (Premier)...But you could tell me how they began. The opening address, eh? How did they lead up? (Stenographer) Most of 'em just kissed me, sir. It seemed to give them confidence. (Premier) But I couldn't possibly start like that. (Stenographer) It's always done sir....
- Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
Herbert Dix, The Premier's Chief Private Secretary: Peter Musgrove
Effie Bimm, Stenographer in the Premier's Room: Devorah Allen
Gregory, Chief Messenger at Parliament House: alanmapstone
William Power, Premier: Son of the Exiles
Patrick O'Reilly, A Constituent: TJ Burns
Edward Vyce, The Party Whip: Leanne Yau
Martha Callender, The Premier's Sister: Beth Thomas
Charles Lukin, Reporter on The Tribune: Tomas Peter
Helen Pretty, A widow, the owner of Wyonora Estate: Sonia
Mrs. Cusack, A friend of Mrs. Pretty's: Sandra Schmit
Vernon Harrington, Leader of the Opposition: MajorToast
Maid: Leanne Yau
Stage Directions and Editing by: ToddHW
3 episodes
A Deal with the Devil is a classic tale with a humorous twist. We find that on the night preceeding his 100th birthday Grandpapa, a cantankerous yet loveable sort, has made a deal with the devil, which his granddaughter, in part, will pay. - Summary by Angelique G. Campbell
24 episodes
” “Any man who doesn’t want to get on in the world, to make a million dollars, and maybe even park his toothbrush in the White House, hasn’t got as much to him as a good dog has—he’s nothing more or less than a vegetable.”Such is the preface of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s only outing as a playwright. The action begins when 35-year-old railway clerk Jerry Frost gets drunk off a bootlegger’s potent hooch on the eve of Warren G. Harding’s presidential nomination. As a result, the second act takes place entirely within Jerry’s intoxicated fantasies, where he has become the new U.S. President and must deal with an assortment of colorful characters and situations. It is here where comic farce and political satire come to intriguing blows, as Fitzgerald finds opportunities to comment (discreetly or not) on the political climate of his day. When his pseudo-presidency goes all to pieces, Jerry’s fantasy comes crashing down, and as he comes to his senses in the third act, we find that his career aspirations have become decidedly less lofty.Though decidedly a minor work from The Great Gatsby’s author, The Vegetable finds him skewering the American Dream’s ethos in ways he would never do again. It’s lighthearted, naughty, irreverent, and does just the trick to escape—even if briefly—from our turbulent times. - Summary by Tomas Peter
Cast List
Jerry Frost: Tomas Peter
Charlotte Frost: Bhavya
Horatio "Dada" Frost: Josh Kibbey
Doris: Foon
Joseph Fish: Chuck Williamson
Mr. Snooks: Son of the Exiles
Mr. Jones: TJ Burns
General Pushing: ToddHW
Chief Justice Fossile: Phil Schempf
The Detective: Sonia
Mr. Stutz-Mozart: Beth Thomas
Newsboy / First Senator: Leanne Yau
Second Senator: Stefan Von Blon
Third Senator: Campbell Schelp
Narrator: Devorah Allen
Editors: Linny and Tomas Peter
3 episodes
"The King [Louis XIV], who will have nothing but what is magnificent in all he undertakes, wished to give his court an entertainment which should comprise all that the stage can furnish. To facilitate the execution of so vast an idea, and to link together so many different things, his Majesty chose for the subject two rival princes, who, in the lovely vale of Tempe, where the Pythian Games were to be celebrated, vie with each other in fêting a young princess and her mother with all imaginable gallantries." - Summary by The Translator
Cast list:
Iphicrate, prince in love with Eriphyle: Aaron White
Timocles, prince in love with Eriphyle: Josh Kibbey
Sostratus, a general, also in love with Eriphyle: Tomas Peter
Anaxarchus, an astrologer: Sonia
Cleon, his son: Campbell Schelp
Chorœbus, in the suit of Aristione: Sandra Schmit
Clitidas, a court jester, one of the attendants of Eriphyle: ToddHW
Aristione, a princess, mother to Eriphyle: Cornel Nemes
Eriphyle, a princess, daughter to Aristione: thestorygirl
Cleonice, confidante to Eriphyle: Leanne Yau
A sham Venus, acting in concert with Anaxarchus: Foon
Aeolus: Elsie Selwyn
A Triton: Jim Locke
Other Tritons: Morgan Z. Sowell
A Cupid: EikyTavie
Another Cupid: Lex Hankins
Yet Another Cupid: Sonia
Neptune: Nemo
A Sea God: Frédéric Surget
Second Sea God: April 6090
Third Sea God: Gail Wamba
Climene: Nichalia Schwartz
Philinte: Son of the Exiles
Stage Directions: Larry Wilson
Edited by: ToddHW
5 episodes
Николай Семёнович Лесков, русский писатель и публицист, из-за своих оригинальных и принципиальных взглядов был не принят по достоинству в литературных кругах ни при жизни, ни при Советской власти. Во второй том Святочных рассказов вошли рассказы и повести не включенные в отдельное издание 1903 г.
Nikolai Leskov (1831 – 1895) was a Russian novelist and short-story writer whose reputation suffered because of his non-conformist views. The second volume of the Yuletide Stories consists of the stories not included in the separate edition of 1903. - Summary by Mark Chulsky
18 episodes
Another Pinero play from the early 1900s. With a social message about the effects of stardom on the star as well as those that love them. "I’m afraid there’s one thing finer than winning the woman you love and, when you’ve won her, being prepared to go through fire and water for her." "What’s that?" "Having the courage to give her up"
- Summary by ToddHW
Cast list:
Viscount Farncombe: Tomas Peter
Colonel the Hon. Arthur Stidulph: alanmapstone
Baron von Rettenmayer: Nemo
Captain Nicholas Jeyes: Campbell Schelp
Lionel Roper: Hamlet
Sam de Castro: Aaron White
Herbert Fulkerson: Frédéric Surget
Stewart Heneage: KevinS
Gerald Grimwood: April 6090
Carlton Smythe (Manager of the Pandora Theatre): James Thomas
Albert Palk (Actor at the Pandora): Sandra Schmit
Wilfrid Tavish (Actor at the Pandora): Philip Watson
Vincent Bland (A Musical Composer, attached to the Pandora): ToddHW
Morris Cooling (Business Manager at the Pandora): Jim Locke
Luigi (Maître d’hôtel at Catani’s Restaurant): Pier
The Hon. Mrs. Arthur Stidulph (Formerly, as Dolly Ensor, of the Pandora Theatre): TJ Burns
Lily Parradell (Of the Pandora): Foon
Jimmie Birch (Of the Pandora): Sonia
Gabrielle Kato (Of the Pandora): Pauline Latournerie
Enid Moncrieff (Of the Pandora): Leanne Yau
Daphne Dure (Of the Pandora): EmmaHatton
Nita Trevenna (Of the Pandora): Lex Hankins
Flo Connify (One of Four Beauties Of the Pandora): Eva Davis
Sybil Dermott (One of Four Beauties Of the Pandora): Availle
Olga Cook (One of Four Beauties Of the Pandora): Devorah Allen
Evangeline Ventris (One of Four Beauties Of the Pandora): Elsie Selwyn
Mrs. Upjohn (Lily Parradell’s mother): DuckTD
Gladys (Lily’s parlourmaid): Eva Davis
Maud (Lily’s maid): Leanne Yau
Stage Directions: Larry Wilson
Edited by: ToddHW
4 episodes
'Monsieur de Pourceaugnac', acted on October 6, 1669, is nothing but a farce. But Molière excels in farce as well as in higher comedy, and 'Monsieur de Pourceaugnac' is one of the best of its kind. The attacks upon the doctors of the time are not exaggerated. Molière acted the part of Mr. de Pourceaugnac.
- Summary by The Translator
Cast list:
Monsieur De Pourceaugnac: Tomas Peter
Oronte, father to Julia: alanmapstone
Éraste, lover to Julia: Leanne Yau
Sbrigani, a Neapolitan adventurer: Larry Wilson
First Physician: ToddHW
Second Physician: Eva Davis
An Apothecary: Frédéric Surget
Countryman - A Peasant: Campbell Schelp
Countrywoman - A Female Peasant: Foon
First Swiss: Nemo
Second Swiss: Foon
A Police Officer: Campbell Schelp
Julia, daughter to Oronte: Elsie Selwyn
Nérine, an intriguing woman, supposed to come from Picardy: Sonia
Lucette, supposed to come from Gascony: Eva Davis
Lady Singer: Devorah Allen
First Man Singer: Nemo
Second Man Singer: MajorToast
1st Lawyer: Campbell Schelp
2nd Lawyer: MajorToast
Child 1: Devorah Allen
Child 2: MajorToast
Stage Directions: Sandra Schmit
Edited By: ToddHW
3 episodes
"Cynthia's Revels," the second "comical satire," was acted in 1600, and, as a play, is even more lengthy, elaborate, and impossible than "Every Man Out of His Humour." Here personal satire seems to have absorbed everything, and while much of the caricature is admirable, especially in the detail of witty and trenchantly satirical dialogue, the central idea of a fountain of self-love is not very well carried out, and the persons revert at times to abstractions, the action to allegory. [Let's see if you agree!]
- Summary by Prof. Felix E. Schelling
Cast list:Cynthia: Devorah Allen
Echo: Sonia
Mercury: ToddHW
Arete: Linda Olsen Fitak
Hesperus: alanmapstone
Phantaste: Lynette Caulkins
Crites: Larry Wilson
Argurion: Sonia
Amorphus: Elijah Fisher
Philautia: Foon
Asotus: Hamlet
Moria: Leanne Yau
Hedon: Tomas Peter
Cos: Jim Locke
Anaides: Campbell Schelp
Gelaia: Sandra Schmit
Morphides: Jim Locke
Prosaites: alanmapstone
Morus: Nemo
Cupid: Eva Davis
Child 1: alanmapstone
Child 2: Tomas Peter
Child 3: TJ Burns
Citizen: Adrian Stephens
Citizen's Wife: Availle
Tailor: April 6090
Perfumer: Steven Fellows
Feather-Maker: Sandra Schmit
Jeweler: Nemo
Milliner: Shashank Jakhmola
Barber: Sonia
Prologue: alanmapstone
Epilogue: alanmapstone
Stage Directions: KevinS
Edited By: ToddHW
6 episodes
As early as 1720 Steele spoke in the Theatre of "a friend of mine" who was lately preparing a comedy according to the just laws of the stage, and had introduced a scene in which the first character bore unprovoked wrong, denied a duel, and still appeared a man of honour and courage. This was clearly an allusion to the play eventually to be published as The Conscious Lovers.
- Summary by G. A. Aitken.
Cast list:
Sir John Bevil: ToddHW
Mr. Sealand: Algy Pug
Bevil, Junior., in love with Indiana: Adrian Stephens
Myrtle, in love with Lucinda: Adam Bielka
Cimberton, a Coxcomb: alanmapstone
Humphry, an old Servant to Sir John: Larry Wilson
Tom, Servant to Bevil, Junior: Tomas Peter
Daniel, a Country Boy, Servant to Indiana: Arthur Nascimento
Mrs. Sealand, second Wife to Sealand: Sonia
Isabella, Sister to Sealand: Kathryn Phipps
Indiana, Sealand's Daughter, by his first Wife: Rapunzelina
Lucinda, Sealand's Daughter, by his second Wife: Devorah Allen
Phillis, Maid to Lucinda: TJ Burns
Servant: Leanne Yau
Stage Directions: MichaelMaggs
Edited by: ToddHW
5 episodes
"In The Old Bachelor we have three or four concurrent plots, which become interwoven, indeed, at the end.... It is recorded that the successive unmasking of four beautiful women gave the audience such delight that they burst into a thunder of applause.
"Here, then, was a play compounded of quite familiar elements, and attempting nothing in the least new or ambitious in technic.... But each of the actions was clear, spirited, and suited to the taste of the day; and the familiarity of the material was redeemed by the novel vivacity of the author's wit."
- Summary by William Archer, editor, 1912
Cast list:
Heartwell, a surly old bachelor, pretending to slight women, secretly in love with Silvia: ToddHW
Bellmour, in love with Belinda: Jason in Panama
Vainlove, capricious in his love; in love with Araminta: Tomas Peter
Sharper: KHand
Sir Joseph Wittol: Adrian Stephens
Captain Bluffe: Adam Bielka
Fondlewife, a banker: Larry Wilson
Setter, a pimp: alanmapstone
Barnaby, servant to Fondlewife: Craig Franklin
Araminta, in love with Vainlove: B L Newman
Belinda, her cousin, an affected lady, in love with Bellmour: JennPratt
Lætitia, wife to Fondlewife: Sonia
Sylvia, Vainlove’s forsaken mistress: Availle
Lucy, her maid: Lisanne Lavoie
Betty: Lydia
Boy: Elijah Fisher
Footman: Nemo
Music-Master: Elijah Fisher
Servant to Fondlewife: Elijah Fisher
Stage Directions: MichaelMaggs
Editing: ToddHW
5 episodes
Vier Erzählungen, die teils überraschende, mehr oder weniger übernatürliche Handlungen und Pointen schildern:
In "Die Teufelsmauer" tritt der Leibhaftige auf, ebenso die Jungfrau Maria.
"Wasser!" schildert eine Erfahrung auf einer Hochzeitsreise in (der Alpenwein-Gegend Süd-) Tirol.
In der "Schattenseite" beleuchtet Hoffmann das Für und Wider eines Aspekts der Ehe, die wilde Frau und der wilde Mann helfen ihm dabei.
"Der Toten Sehnsucht" ist eine wunderschöne Erzählung am Schluss des Buches, wortgewaltig und stark vom Inhalt her. - Summary by schrm
9 episodes
Donne’s Style
In John Donne’s day, a satire was such a poem as a satyr might compose. Satyrs were rough, savage creatures in Greek mythology, human to the waist but goat from there down. That is the reason that Donne’s style in these poems exceeds his normal difficulty in syntax, vocabulary, thought, and meter. His age enjoyed untangling such puzzles, and some poets cultivated obscurity as an art, called asprezza. Wordplay like “while bellows pant below” (Satyre 2), where the same syllables, stressed differently, produce two different words almost side by side, entertained them.
An acoustical analogue to obscurity, Donne’s rhymes are often deliberately lame, while his rhythms nearly defy scansion and yet refuse to become mere prose. By keeping the drum beat just barely audible, he makes us feel that we are stumbling, out of step—neither marching nor merely walking.
Why was this abuse of the reader enjoyable? Perhaps for the same reason that grafitti appeals to some people. At first glance Donne appears lax, but in fact he is naughty; not undisciplined but rebellious; he does not fail to abide by the rules but rather gives the impression of breaking them.
Metempsychosis
The poem appears to be incomplete, its “First Song” having no counterpart, no “Second Song.” Similarly its promise to end by identifying what celebrity the soul in question now inhabits is never fulfilled. On the contrary, the poem’s initial epic pretentions founder at the second generation of mankind rather than tracing human history from the Garden of Eden to modern England, as was proposed. In view of the author’s mock-heroic tone, however, the poem’s apparent incompletion may be part of the satire, so it does no harm to suppose it as complete as necessary to accomplish its purpose.
What it accomplishes is to demonstrate, by means of the Pythagorean doctrine of the transmigration of souls, the depravity of the object of the satire (identity unknown but perhaps easily guessed by Donne’s audience). According to this doctrine, also called metempsychosis, the various guises that a soul takes in its travels are rewards or punishments for its conduct in each of its incarnations. It is debatable whether this process always leads to purification. In this poem it appears rather to be simple unfolding, dilation, the full realization of the soul’s potential. This soul has an appalling capacity for evil, beginning ominously as the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and never rising higher than the moral neutrality of a fish. (A modern reader unfamiliar with The Bhagavad Gita may rely on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as background to the concept of the dilation and degradation of a soul.)
The style of the poem reflects the theme of shape-changing, for Donne loves to employ words’ multiple senses in close proximity:
. . . Make my darke heavy Poëm light, and light . . . [not dark + not heavy]
. . . to heare / Whose story, with long patience you will long . . . [adjective + verb]
. . . Her, her fates threw . . . [object of verb + possessive]
. . . Her sinne had now brought in infirmities . . . [verbal particle + prefix]
. . . Ill steward of himself, himselfe in three yeares ends. . . . [object of preposition + object of verb]
. . . Yet them all these unkinde kinds feed upon . . . [adjective + noun]
Such wordplay is common in Donne’s satires, but in a poem chronicling the exploits of fishes, a sparrow, a wolf, and a mouse—all being the same individual in different forms—it seems especially appropriate. - Summary by Thomas Copeland
7 episodes
Don Juan "contains, perhaps, more severe attacks upon hypocrisy than does even Tartuffe. It depicts the hero as a man who, rich, noble, powerful, and bold, respects neither heaven nor earth, and knows no bounds to the gratification of his desires or his passions. He has excellent manners, but abominable principles; he is a whited sepulcher, and abuses the privileges of nobility without acknowledging its obligations or its duties. Moliere sketches no longer the nobleman as ridiculous, but makes him terrible."
- Summary by The Translator
Cast list:
Don Juan, son to Don Louis: Kurt
Don Carlos, brother to Donna Elvira: Alan Mapstone
Don Alonzo, brother to Donna Elvira: Adam Bielka
Don Louis, father to Don Juan: Ron Altman
The Statue of The Commander: ToddHW
Guzman, gentleman-usher to Donna Elvira: Larry Wilson
Monsieur Dimanche, a tradesman: Tomas Peter
Sganarelle, servant to Don Juan: Adrian Stephens
La Violette, servant to Don Juan: Availle
Ragotin, servant to Don Juan: Alan Mapstone
Pierrot, a countryman: Tomas Peter
La Ramee, a swashbuckler: ToddHW
A Ghost: Sandra Schmit
Donna Elvira, wife to Don Juan: Matea Bracic
Charlotte, country-woman: Jenn Broda
Mathurine, country-woman: Sonia
A poor man: Jim Locke
Stage Directions: Emmi Kranz
Editing: ToddHW
5 episodes
Robert Cortes Holliday was an early 20th century essayist, editor, and librarian. Writer Christopher Morley said that he "has the genuine gift of the personal essay, mellow, fluent, and pleasantly eccentric." Most of these pleasant pieces appeared originally in various American newspapers and magazines. - Summary by Tom Penn
29 episodes
El jardín de los cerezos es la última de las piezas principales de Chéjov (las otras son La gaviota, Tío Vania y Las tres hermanas). Se trata de una comedia escrita en cuatro actos, ambientada en el declive económico de la aristocracia rusa a finales del siglo XIX. Durante este periodo, los hijos de los que habían sido sus esclavos se enriquecían y tenía lugar una inversión de papeles que ponía en entredicho la forma de vida de las clases adineradas tradicionales. - Summary by Phileas Fogg
5 episodes
