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Ben Jonson's The Alchemist

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  2w, 8m

Jeffrey Hatcher

It’s plague time, and a servant and his two con artist co-conspirators are ready and willing to fleece hordes of greedy and terrified Londoners.

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Ben Jonson's The Alchemist

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 8m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Farce, Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

London. 1610. It’s plague time again. When a wealthy gentleman flees to the country, his trusted servant opens his house to a pair of con artists and sets up a den of criminal capitalism. Claiming alchemical powers, the quick-witted trio fleece an onslaught of greedy sheep with their virtuosic ability to improvise amidst increasingly frantic comings and goings. It’s comic gold with dupes, double-dupes, duels, disguises and a lucky flea named Lewis.

History

Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist was originally commissioned and produced by Red Bull Theater in New York City in December 2021.

Keywords
Performing Groups

FACE – the butler (a rogue)
SUBTLE – the alchemist (a charlatan)
DOL COMMON – their colleague (a bawd)
DAPPER – a lawyer’s clerk (an ass)
ABEL DRUGGER – a tobacconist (a creature)
SIR EPICURE MAMMON – a knight (a dreamer)
ANANIAS – a Deacon (a religious maniac)
KASTRIL – an angry boy (a bumpkin)
SURLY – a gamester (a sceptic)
DAME PLIANT – a widow (an innocent)

  • Time Period 17th Century
  • Setting

    London, in a gentleman’s home. 1610. The time of the plague. 

  • Features Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Physical Comedy
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)

Media

“A giddy whirl, sweeter and less cynical than the original.” – Vulture

“Shenanigans and slapstick ensue, spiced with an abundance of saucy double, and sometimes single entendres.” – The New York Times

“A crackling new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher.” – TheaterMania

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Jeffrey Hatcher

Jeffrey Hatcher

Jeffrey Hatcher. Broadway: Never Gonna Dance (Book). Off-Broadway: Three Viewings and A Picasso at Manhattan Theatre Club; Scotland Road and The Turn of the Screw at Primary Stages; Tuesdays with Morrie (with Mitch Albom) at The Minetta Lane; Murder By Poe, The Turn of the Sc ...

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