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A review by grubstlodger
The Knight Of The Burning Pestle by John Fletcher, Francis Beaumont
4.0
Like any good script, there were a number of roles I would like to play.
I really enjoyed the conceit of this play, I imagine Mischief Theatre would do a really good take on it. The audience sits down to watch a play ‘The London Merchant’ but a Grocer and his wife are fed up with plays mocking London Cits and so barge on stage and make demands.
Chief among the demands is that their apprentice plays a heroic, knightly grocer - because it’s fun and he’s such a good actor.
The actors then try and put on their play - a funny if rather derivative comedy about two lovers tricking her father and suitor, while the grocers make comments and try to shoehorn in their grocer/knight.
Most of the times it is like two plays going on separately, though they do intersect a little. Were I to write a modern take on this, I’d probably have them intersect more.
I really likes the grocer’s many pet names for his wife (he’d be fun to play) - though the most fun would be the suitor, Humphrey.
As much as I was enjoying everyone else’s lines, I couldn’t wait till Humphrey could come on and do something ninnyish again. His lines were written in verse but it seemed like it could be played self-consciously, as if the character knew he had to rhyme and so forced himself.
Very good fun, all around.
I really enjoyed the conceit of this play, I imagine Mischief Theatre would do a really good take on it. The audience sits down to watch a play ‘The London Merchant’ but a Grocer and his wife are fed up with plays mocking London Cits and so barge on stage and make demands.
Chief among the demands is that their apprentice plays a heroic, knightly grocer - because it’s fun and he’s such a good actor.
The actors then try and put on their play - a funny if rather derivative comedy about two lovers tricking her father and suitor, while the grocers make comments and try to shoehorn in their grocer/knight.
Most of the times it is like two plays going on separately, though they do intersect a little. Were I to write a modern take on this, I’d probably have them intersect more.
I really likes the grocer’s many pet names for his wife (he’d be fun to play) - though the most fun would be the suitor, Humphrey.
As much as I was enjoying everyone else’s lines, I couldn’t wait till Humphrey could come on and do something ninnyish again. His lines were written in verse but it seemed like it could be played self-consciously, as if the character knew he had to rhyme and so forced himself.
Very good fun, all around.