004 Historical Comedy – Old
And Martyn Wade is back in the game with Burn the Aeneid! from 1992, a
delightful comedy about Roman writer Publius Vergilis (that’s Vergil to you and
me, PV to the characters in the play). It was a funny and arch story about the last
will and testament of Vergil who exhorted his literary executors to burn the
manuscript of the Aeneid. Naturally, his executors (Clive Merrison,
Norman Rodway) didn’t want to do this, but they were thwarted first by the
lawyer Probus (David Horovitch) and then by PV’s country bumpkin half-brother
and sanctimonious wife (Linda Marlowe), then by Vergil’s literary rival. Also featuring was Homer the dog. It was quite enjoyable; I always like an
ancient Roman drama that makes you feel as though you are there, not held at
arm’s length through the centuries (like the R.S. Downie books which feel very
fresh and immediate). Recurring jokes
included everyone saying, “Greetings” every time some new person walked into
the room. Naturally, Vergil had a trick
up his (dead) sleeve. I wish there had been a few more parts for women, but
overall, it was very well cast and acted.
It was directed by Cherry Cookson and also starred James Grout, Jonathan
Adams, John Webb, and Peter Gunn.
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