003 Historical Comedy – New
I think I must have heard the second series of How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny
and Me, but having not heard the first series, I still enjoyed it. Written by Hattie Naylor and directed by Kate
McAll, this is another example of Naylor making the past accessible (Pepys’
diaries being the major example). This
is the story of Pliny the Younger, his mother Marcella, and his slaves Venta
(who is from the Silures tribe, ergo Welsh) and Doris (who is Greek). It’s very gentle, amusing comedy, despite the
fact that it illustrates the life-and-death and sometimes brutal quality of
life in the Roman empire (particularly in the last two episodes in which Venta
is falsely accused of poisoning General Agricola, back from his victories in
Britain, thrown into jail, and forced to fight to the death in the gladiatorial
arena). Pliny is by far the most
clueless of the characters. Marcella is
in love with Venta, and Doris falls in love with a doomed dwarf named Calvin
who is part of the gladiatorial games of the vain Emperor Domitian. I don’t have any information on the actors.
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