Download alchemist-education-pack-adc2010

Education Pack to accompany the Marlowe Society's production of
THE
ALCHEMIST
by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, Cambridge
October 2010
This education pack will be regularly updated through 16 October 2010.
Contents
2
3
4
5
7
8
10
Introduction
The Production
Cast and Crew
The Story
The Author
Notes from the Director
Activities
Introduction
This education pack is designed to complement your trip to see the Marlowe Society's
October 2010 production of The Alchemist by Ben Jonson at the ADC Theatre in
Cambridge.
The material may be freely reproduced for use in the classroom. Feel free to use the
resources and activities as written or to adapt them for
The text is designed to be easily photocopied. You will find information and exercises for
use in the classroom. Feel free to use them as written or adapt them to suit your class
and/or situation. If you have any comments on either the show or the education pack,
please get in touch.
Further details about this production can be found at www.thealchemistadc.co.uk.
For further information, please contact:
John Haidar, Director - [email protected]
Ingrid Jendrzejewski, Producer – [email protected]
Tickets can be booked online at www.adctheatre.com or by phone at 01223 300085.
For current press releases and press-quality images, please visit
www.adctheatre.com/press.php.
For press tickets or other enquiries, please contact Richard Bates on 01223 359 547 or
[email protected].
Views expressed in this education pack are not necessarily those of the ADC Theatre.
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 3
The Production
The Marlowe Society presents
The Alchemist
by Ben Jonson
7.45pm, Tue 12th - Sat 16th October
2.30pm matinee, Sat 16th October
ADC Theatre
The world-famous Marlowe Society ("a powerhouse of theatrical expertise" - Sir Ian
McKellen) is proud to work with the ADC Theatre to bring to life Jonson's finest
masterpiece.
Living in a stolen house, Face, Subtle and Dol Common are making themselves a fortune.
Imagine, if you can, a world full of the greedy, false and ambitious, all out for
everything they can get. Imagine a world where the desire for money and sex drives
individuals to believe the most outrageous things. Imagine a world where such an
indulgent philosophy leads its residents into farcical and extraordinary situations.
Our three heroes are master con-artists. Employing a spectacular array of characters and
costumes they entice, seduce, deceive and hustle their way through the playwright’s
most colourful and eclectic collection of characters with hilarious results.
Ben Jonson wrote The Alchemist to satirise the London of his time, however, his precise,
witty and enlightened depiction of humanity remains shockingly relevant today.
The Marlowe Society was founded in 1907 and boasts alumni including Peter Hall, Trevor
Nunn, Sam Mendes, Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, and Simon Russell Beale. It has recently
been described as “the most influential amateur dramatic society in Britain, probably in
the world” (Tim Cribb, Bloomsbury and the British Theatre; Salt Publishing, 2007). The
Marlowe has developed a reputation for producing exciting, innovative and professional
interpretations of such classic texts, attracting some of the finest actors, technicians
and creative forces from within Cambridge University.
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 4
Cast and Crew
Cast
Subtle - Nick Ricketts
Face - Joey Batey
Dol - Victoria Ball
Mammon - Will Seaward
Surly - Theo Chester
Dapper - Josh Stamp-Simon
Drugger - James Swanton
Ananias - George Potts
Tribulation - Oskar McCarthy
Lovewit - Tom Pye
Kastril - James Kellett
Dame Pliant - Abi Bennett
Chorus
Emerald Paston
Leonie James
Laura Kettle
Brid Arnstein
Holly Crook
Isla Fitchie
Production Team
Director - John Haidar
Producer - Ingrid Jendrzejewski
Assistant Producer - Rich Mason
Stage Manager - Debbie Farquhar
Assistant Stage Manager - Sarah Ward
Costume Designer - Lara Prendergast, Paula Petkova
Technical Director - Oliver Duff
Lighting Designer - Simon Thomas
Sound Designer - Peter Hoyes
Chief Electrician - Tony Dent
Photographer - Chrystal Ding
Website Designer - Peter Cowan
Publicity Designer – Joey Batey
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 5
The Story
Though the events dramatised in The Alchemist take place over the course of a single
day, everything you need to understand for the story to fall into place, goes back several
weeks, even months.
The action begins when Lovewit leaves his townhouse in Blackfriars to escape the threat
of plague in London. He leaves a single servant, Jeremy Butler, to care for his house in
his absence.
After Lovewit has left, Jeremy travels to Pie Corner in Smithfield, where he meets an
emaciated man, who is down on his luck. This is the con artist, Subtle. The two of them
hit on the idea of a scam. They are going to take over Lovewit’s house and pretend that
Subtle is a skilled alchemist who has the power to produce the legendary Philosopher’s
Stone, which will turn all base metals into gold. The lowly butler, Jeremy, is turned into
Captain Face, a thoroughly respectable chap. Face is sent out into the city to win
people’s trust and bring them to the house. Face is the roper, who brings in the mark,
and Subtle is the inside man. Face and Subtle employ a prostitute, Dol Common, to aid
them in their task.
A few weeks pass, and the scam seems to be going well. Face has been successful in
generating interest in the Philosopher’s Stone, and the substantial house they inhabit in
Blackfriars is evidence of Subtle’s high standing. Subtle is able to pass himself off as
whatever Face has set him up to be. Face, in turn, is able to disguise himself as Ulen
Spiegel, the bellows man, upon request. It is at this point, having established their
criminal enterprise, that Jonson begins his play.
The drama opens with an argument between the three con artists, as Face and Subtle
vie for supremacy. Dol, breaking the two apart, reasons that they must work as a team if
any of them are to enjoy success.
They finally agree and, employing a spectacular array of characters and costumes, begin
to entice, seduce, deceive and hustle their way through the playwright’s most colourful
of characters – Dapper and Drugger, Tribulation and Ananias, Mammon and Surly, Pliant
and Kastril – with hilarious results.
First to arrive is Dapper, a lawyer’s clerk, who wishes for a bit of luck at the races and in
rolling dice. Face and Subtle manage to trick him into believing he may gain favour with
the ‘Queen of Fairy’, a mysterious relative who will grant him enormous wealth. First of
all, however, Dapper must undergo a range of humiliated (and completely unnecessary)
ceremonial practices. After Dapper, Abel Drugger, a local tobacconist arrives, in the hope
of seeking Subtle’s advice, relating to the dimensions of his new shop. After this, Sir
Epicure Mammon and his cynical friend, Surly, enter the house, wherein Mammon
believes the dynamic duo are preparing the Philosopher’s Stone for him. Surly, quite
rightly, suspects both Face and Subtle and is quite adamant he will not be “gull’d”.
About midway through their conversation, Mammon sees Dol. Anxious to change the
subject, Face tells him she is a lord’s sister, who has recently been diagnosed with a
form of madness. Mammon is infatuated and vows to visit and woo her.
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
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Meanwhile, Subtle is being irritated by a pious deacon of the Anabaptist sect, a cleric
named Ananias, who has refused to give him any more money. Subtle, in turn, demands
to speak to his pastor, Tribulation Wholesome. Drugger returns and is given nonsensical
advice about the setting up of his new business. He brings news of a local widow, Dame
Pliant, who is richly endowed thanks to her brother, Kastril, with £3000 a year. Both Face
and Subtle set out to win the rich widow.
Ananias, this time accompanied by Tribulation, returns, agreeing to pay for the
brethren’s possessions to be turned into gold. Little do they know these are in fact the
goods belonging to Mammon. At this point, Dapper returns and is told he will meet with
the ‘Queen of Fairy’ imminently. Drugger brings Kastril, who is interested in Subtle’s
apparent matchmaking skills, in an attempt to marry off his sister. Dapper is then
blindfolded and exposed to the ‘fairies’ (able played by Face and Subtle), which proceed
to pinch and ridicule him. However, upon the surprise return of Mammon, Dapper is
gagged and locked under the privy. Face introduces Mammon to Dol, leaving them to
enjoy a romantic interlude. Kastril returns with his sister, Dame Pliant, who enraptures
both Face and Subtle. A quarrel ensues over who is to have her.
Meanwhile, Surly has been plotting to expose the con artists and returns to the house in
the guise of a Spanish nobleman. Believing he speaks no English, both Face and Subtle
proceed to insult him. As Dol is temporarily ‘engaged’ with Mammon, and believing the
Spanish Don has come for a woman, Face decides to offer Dame Pliant. Fearing her
brother, she concedes and goes off with Surly, who by this point wishes to not only
expose the scheme but also to marry the widow. By this time, Mammon has been around
for too long and needs to be got rid of. Dol pretends to enter a fit of madness and there
is an explosion in the laboratory. Face explains to Mammon that their work is ruined and
Dol’s brother is angry and in search of him. Mammon hastily leaves. After Subtle
attempts to pickpocket Surly whilst he sleeps, he reveals himself, having already
confided in Dame Pliant, and denounces the con artists. Kastril, Drugger and Ananias
immediately return and verbally abuse the trickster, Surly, who finally retreats. Face
instructs Drugger to find a Spanish costume if he is to have a chance of marrying the
widow. To make things worse, Dol notices that the master, Lovewit, has returned to the
house.
Lovewit finds a group of neighbours and questions them about what has happened whilst
he has been away. Face reverts back to his ‘default setting’, Jeremy Butler, and explains
that there have been no visitors in the past few weeks. At this point, Mammon and Surly,
Kastril and Tribulation and Ananias return to the house. In addition, Dapper chews
through his gag and is heard from underneath the privy. Losing all faith in the con,
Jeremy confesses to Lovewit, asking him to pardon him in exchange for marriage to the
rich widow. Dapper is introduced to the ‘Queen of Fairy’ and departs happily, none the
wiser. Face confides in his two colleagues that he has confessed to Lovewit and that
there are officers on their way; Subtle and Dol are furious and are forced to leave the
house with nothing.
Some of the ‘customers’ return to find that Lovewit is married to Dame Pliant – he has
also secretly claimed all of Mammon’s goods. The ‘customers’ depart, disconsolately, as
Kastril accepts his sister’s marriage. Finally, Face asks for the audience’s forgiveness as
the curtain falls.
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 7
The Author
Ben Jonson was born in London in 1572. His
father, a clergyman, died shortly before his birth.
After
graduating
from
Westminster,
he
experimented with trade and served a brief term
in the army before joining a theatre company run
by Philip Henslowe.
Relatively little is known about his theatrical
career until 1597 when he was imprisoned for his
contributions to a now-lost play called The Isle of
Dogs - a satire so seditious that it induced the
privy council to supress all the London theatres.
Then, in 1598, Jonson's reputation was firmly
established when his play Every Man in His Humor
was performed at the Curtain by the Lord
Chamberlain's Company, with no other than
William Shakespeare himself playing one of the
roles.
Jonson found himself in more than one squabble with his fellow thespians. In 1598, he
went to trial for killing an actor in a duel. He lost his property and his thumb was
branded, but he escaped capital punishment. He then went on to write, among other
things, a couple of satirical comedies which lampooned rival playwrights Dekker and
Marston (who responded with their own play that attacked Jonson).
Jonson didn't just make enemies within the world of the theatre; Jonson was questioned
by privy council about his 1603 tragedy Sejanus and voluntarily accompanied his coauthors to prison when Chapman and Marston were jailed for their contributions to
Eastward Ho! performed in 1604.
Despite these troubles, he soon began to write masques for King James I’s court. Over
the next 15 years, Jonson enjoyed great success. During this time, he penned many of
the plays for which he is most remembered today, including Volpone in 1606, The
Alchemist in 1610 and Bartholomew Fair in 1614, all three of which were included in his
first folio of plays published in 1616. Also in 1616, Jonson began to receive a regular
pension for his work, causing some to view him as the first poet laureate.
His popularity began to wane in the 1620s, although he was still a great influence on
several younger poets including Robert Herrick, Richard Lovelace and John Suckling.
Jonson continued to write until his death in 1637. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 8
The portrait shown above was based on a 1617 portrait of Jonson by Abraham van
Blijenberch, a Flemish painter who painted many of those in King James I’s court.
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 9
Notes from the Director
In David Mamet’s 2001 crime film, Heist, a master
con-artist walks towards his car, about to drive to a
dangerous job. “Stay in the shadows,” his wife warns
him. “Everyone’s going to be looking in the shadows,”
he replies, “the place to be is in the sun.”
When I was researching the background to this
production, I came across a passage in a recent book
by Robert Butler: “Our minds are naturally drawn
towards the half-hidden, the overheard and whatever
it was that was disappearing round the corner. [In this
way,] one of the essential skills in influencing other
people’s thoughts is to allow the crucial information to
appear as if it was not really supposed to have been
heard at all.” This extract seemed to me to sum up
perfectly the cleverness of Jonson’s greatest con.
Born into a life of abject poverty in 1572, Benjamin Jonson grew up in an age rife with
plague and political unrest. Through the patronage of a mysterious benefactor, he was
classically educated at Westminster School before enlisting to fight in the Netherlands
and then spending most of his later life in and out of prison, as a result of the “lewd and
mutinous” nature of his early plays and, on one occasion, for killing an actor, Gabriel
Spencer, in a duel. The only thing going for him was the power of his writing.
It is difficult to imagine that,
from
such
humble
beginnings, he would come
to
rival
Shakespeare.
However, by the time he died
in 1637, he was the most
celebrated poet of his age
and was almost universally
acknowledged as a better
playwright than the author of
Hamlet.
A
comic
masterpiece, The Alchemist,
celebrates its 400th birthday
this year. In the words of the
poet and literary critic,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
along
with
Sophocles’
Oedipus and Henry Fielding’s
Tom
Jones,
the
play
represents one of the three
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 10
most perfect plots in all literature.
With his master, Lovewit, retreating to the country to avoid an outbreak of the plague in
London, Face develops a scheme to make money. He enlists the help of a recent
acquaintance, Subtle, and a prostitute, Dol Common, giving them access to his master’s
house. Subtle disguises himself as an alchemist, with Face as his servant. The three gull
and cheat their way through an assortment of foolish characters, with the play taking
place over the course of a day in Lovewit’s house. The three rogues are forced to
frenetic manoeuvres to manage all of their simultaneous scams, and then to fend off
their increasingly suspicious clientele. At last, Lovewit returns; quickly perceiving what
Face has done in his absence, he devises a scheme of his own, allowing all to end well.
It’s been a long and winding road to get this production on stage, having been forced to
cancel the first scheduled run due to illness. I would like to thank everyone associated
with the show and, in particular, Ingrid Jendrzejewski, and the fantastic creative team,
who have worked tirelessly, and Matt Bulmer, without whom none of this would be
possible.
To my mind, all great art should evoke a reaction in us, and whether that’s love or hate,
sorrow or joy, it should grab us by the throat, wrestle us to the ground, and re-arrange
our reality. Jonson does this, having spent most of his life moving between the shadows
and the sun, and, for this reason, The Alchemist continues to have a hold over us, four
hundred years’ on. Brilliant, witty and utterly hilarious, it shows us that the desire for
wealth, sex or social status continues to make fools of us all, at one point or another,
even today.
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 11
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
Page 12
Activities
The Classical Unities
One of the earliest pieces of writing to address dramatic theory was Aristotle's Poetics,
written around 335 BCE. In this work, Aristotle discusses what have now become known
as the ‘classical unities’ – three rules that Aristotle believed that dramas should obey:



Unity of time – the action in a drama should take place over the course of, at
most, 24 hours
Unity of place – the play should take place in one place.
Unity of action – the play should focus on one main action or plotline. It should
not be confused with lots of subplots.
Discuss how Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist obeys or disobeys Aristotle’s classical unities.
Be sure to give examples from the play!
Costumes and Set
This painting, "David Garrick as Abel
Drugger in Jonson's The Alchemist" by
Johann Zoffany, portrays a scene from
a 1740s revival of The Alchemist in
which John Palmer plays Face, Burton
plays Subtle and David Garrick plays
Abel Drugger. This play was staged in
the 1740s at Theatre Royal, Smock
Lane in Dublin – a theatre that
attracted many stars from London.
How do the costumes and set in this
painting differer from the costumes
and set in the play you’ve just seen?
Do you think that adding modern
costumes and set pieces to The
Alchemist changes how the audience views the characters and the story? If you were
designing the costumes or set for a production of The Alchemist, what sorts of clothing,
furniture and props would you choose? What would these decisions bring to the story?
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
Education Pack
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Reviews
Samuel Taylor Coleridge once wrote, “Upon my word, I think the Oedipus Tyrannus, The
Alchemist, and Tom Jones, the three most perfect plots ever planned.”1 Do you agree or
disagree? Why?
Write your own review of The Alchemist. Imagine that you are writing to someone who
has not yet seen the play.
You may want to include a brief outline or introduction to the story as well as your own
opinions about various aspects of the production (like characters, set, costumes, music
and lighting). Is there any aspect of the show that you particularly liked? Is there
anything you would have done differently?
Feel free to submit a copy of your review to the production team!
Sound and Music
Just as much as costume and set, music and sound can make a great difference in how
an audience responds to a play. In this production, the director uses a song from The
Arctic Monkeys to frame the story, but other productions have made very different
choices.
For example, The Alchemist HWV 43 is music written by Handel and arranged by an
anonymous composer for a revival of The Alchemist that played at Queen’s Theatre in
London on the 14th of January, 1710. Almost all of the movements were taken from the
overture to Handel’s opera, Rodrigo.
How do you think the music chosen for the current production adds to or detracts from
the play? How might the play seem different if, say, the Handel arrangement was used
instead? If you were directing a version of The Alchemist, what type of music or sound
effects would you choose?
1 R F Brinkley (ed.). Coleridge on the Seventeenth Century (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University
Press, 1955).
The Alchemist by Ben Jonson
ADC Theatre, October 2010
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