The Alchemist: An Audience Guide by The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Slides of Theatre

Download The Alchemist: An Audience Guide by The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and more Slides Theatre in PDF only on Docsity!

The Alchemist

written by Ben Jonson

adapted and directed by Bonnie J. Monte

Audience Guide

researched and written by

the Education Department of

The Shakespeare Theatre

of New Jersey

In

• • About Ben Jonson
• • The Alchemist : A Synopsis
• •From the Director - Bonnie J. Monte
• • The Alchemist: A History of the Play.
• •Who’s Who in The Alchemist? ..
• •Glossary of Words and Terms .............................................
• •Commentary and Criticism
• •In This Production.
• • The Alchemist Online.
• •Other Works by Ben Jonson......................................................................................................................................
• •Sources and Further Reading.

The Alchemist When an outbreak of the plague forces Master Lovewit to leave the city, his butler, known as Face to his friends in the streets, invites Subtle, a swindler posing as an alchemist, and Dol Common, a prostitute, to join him in using the house as a base of operations for their cons and scams. Dapper, a gullible lawyer’s clerk given to gambling, is the first victim to call, by previous arrangement with Face. Dapper wants to learn from Doctor Subtle how to win at all games of chance. In the hands of the two rascals, Dapper is relieved of all his ready cash, in return for the promise of a “familiar,” a tiny spirit embodied in a fly, which will bring Dapper luck in gambling and betting. In order to gull Dapper further, Subtle tells him to return later to confer with the Queen of the Fairies, who he claims is Dapper’s aunt and who may bestow riches on him. Abel Drugger, an ambitious young druggist and tobacconist who has also been led on by Face, is the next victim to enter the house. To his delight, he learns from Subtle, who speaks fluently in pharmaceutical and astrological jargon, that he will have a rich future. Next arrives Sir Epicure Mammon, a wealthy knight, with his skeptical friend Pertinax Surly. Having been promised the Philosopher’s Stone by Subtle, Mammon has wild visions of transforming all of his possessions into gold. During the interview, Dol appears dressed as a rich lady. Mammon catches sight of her and is fascinated. Face tells Mammon that Dol is an aristocratic lady who, being mad, is under the care of Doctor Subtle. Mammon asks Face to arrange a way for him to meet the mysterious woman. Before he leaves the house, Mammon promises to send Subtle certain of his household objects of base metal for the purpose of having them transmuted into gold. The parade of victims continues. Ananias of the Amsterdam community of exiled Anabaptists comes to negotiate for the Philosopher’s Stone on behalf of the church elders. Subtle, with Face posing as his assistant, showers Ananias with extravagant alchemical jargon. Ananias declares that the brethren are impatient with the slowness of the experiment. Subtle, feigning professional indignation, frightens Ananias with a threat to shut the project down. Drugger reappears only to be duped further. Subtle and Face are delighted when he tells them that a wealthy young widow has taken up lodging near him, and that her brother, recently come into an inheritance, has journeyed to London to learn how to quarrel in rakish fashion. The two knaves plot eagerly to get brother and sister into their clutches. Ananias returns with his pastor, Tribulation Wholesome. Prepared to go to any ends to procure the Philosopher’s Stone, Ananias and Tribulation contract to purchase Mammon’s household articles, which, Subtle pretends are orphan’s goods and needed for the experiment; Subtle claims the proceeds of the sale will go toward the care of orphans. In the meantime, Face meets in the streets what he thinks is a Spanish don—Surly in clever disguise. Face lures the Don with promises of Subtle’s famous healing “baths” and brothel services. Dapper returns to meet the Queen of the Fairies. At the same time, Drugger brings to the house Master Kastril, The angry young man who wants to learn to quarrel. Kastril is completely taken in by Subtle, who promising to make him a perfect London gallant, arranges to have him instructed by Face, who poses as a rakish captain. Kastril is so pleased with his new acquaintances that he leaves to fetch his sister to the house. Dol, Subtle, and Face relieve Dapper of all of his money in a abrsurd ritual in which Dapper is to see and talk to the Queen of the Fairies. During the shameless proceedings, Mammon knocks. Dapper, who was blindfolded, is gagged and hastily put into a water closet at the rear of the house. Mammon enters and begins to woo Dol, who he believes to be a distracted noblewoman. Face, in order to have the front part of the house clear for further swindles, shunts the amorous pair to another part of the house. Young Kastril returns with his widowed sister, Dame Pliant; both are deeply impressed by Subtle’s manner and rhetoric. When the Spanish don arrives, Subtle escorts Kastril and Dame Pliant to yet another part of the house. Both Subtle and Face are determined to wed the rich Dame Pliant. However, Face must introduce the Spaniard to Dame Pliant making him think she is Subtle’s famous A Synopsis

prostitute, because Dol is already occupied with Mammon. Dame Pliant is, of course, clueless; she thinks they are matching her up with a wealthy Spaniard for marriage. Despite her irrational objections to Spaniards in general, she consents to go off to a room with the don to be wooed. In the next scene, we see, Dol pretending to be in a fit of madness. Subtle, discovering the distraught Mammon with her, declares that Mammon’s moral laxity will surely delay completion of the Philosopher’s Stone. Following a loud explosion, Face reports that the laboratory has been destroyed. Mammon despondently leaves the house, and Doctor Subtle collapses in feigned distress. Surly reveals his true identity to Dame Pliant and warns the young widow against the swindling villains. When he reveals himself to the scoundrels and confronts them, Face, in desperation, tells Kastril that Surly is an impostor who is trying to steal Dame Pliant away. Drugger enters and, being Face’s friend, insists that he knows Surly to be a scoundrel. Unable to cope with the onslaught, Surly departs, pursued by Kastril. Subtle places Dame Pliant in Dol’s care, and he and Face continue to plot, only to be thrown once more into chaos when Master Lovewit, the owner of the house, unexpectedly returns. Face, quickly reverting to his normal role as Jeremy the butler, goes to the door in an attempt to detain his master long enough to permit Subtle and Dol to escape. Lovewit, having heard from his neighbors that strange things have been going on in the house for weeks, further suspects that something is amiss when Mammon and Surly return to expose Subtle and Face. Kastril, Ananias, and Tribulation confirm their account. Dapper, having managed to get rid of his gag, cries out from within the house. Unable to contradict the great evidence against him, Face confesses part of the truth to his master and promises to provide him with a wealthy young widow as his wife, if Lovewit will have mercy on him. In the house, meanwhile, Subtle concludes the gulling of Dapper and sends the young clerk on his way, filled with the belief that he will win at all games of chance. Subtle and Dol then try to abscond with the threesome’s loot, but Face, back in Lovewit’s good graces, thwarts them in their attempt. They are forced to escape empty-handed by the back gate. Lovewit wins the hand of Dame Pliant and, in his good humor, forgives his crafty butler. When those who have been swindled demand retribution, they get none. Surly, the one honest man, is also thwarted, but he vows future revenge and determines to bring Face to justice. (from Left to Right) Costume Designs for Face, Subtle, and Dol Common as the Rich Lady by Nikki Delhomme.

The Alchemist A History of the Play The Alchemist has a production history as colorful as the characters that inhabit its story. Due to the closing of many of the playhouses during an outbreak of the plague, the earliest documented performance of The Alchemist was not in London, but rather in Oxford in September 1610. Jonson’s meticulous record keeping shows that Richard Burbage, John Heminges, Henry Condell, and other members of the King’s Men performed in the original production, but his records do not specify which roles each actor played. The Alchemist opened to mixed reviews, being widely applauded by the court and receiving occasionally harsh comments from the general public. Despite its lukewarm debut, however, over the next two decades it was performed numerous times in the court and went on to become one of the most popular plays of the seventeenth century. The play continued to be performed throughout the following decades even after the death of Ben Jonson, and it was later performed in Dublin. This revival featured a new prologue written by James Shirley to honor the recently deceased Jonson. The Irish audiences took to it less favorably than the English, finding the play too pointedly satirical or not broad enough in its comedy for their tastes. There is an eighteen year gap of time (1642-1660) when the church suppressed theatre in which there are no recorded performances of The Alchemist. In 1662, Francis Kirkman published a collection of drolls, short comical sketches, entitled The Wits; or Sport Upon Sport. It contained a piece entitled The Empiric that featured the characters of Face, Subtle, Drugger, Ananias and was adapted from the first two acts of Jonson’s play. When playhouses were opened again in the 1660s, The Alchemist was one of the first plays performed, this time with a new addition: women. With changing attitudes towards theatre, women were permitted on stage for the first time in England. In the newly mounted production, women took on the roles of Dol Common and Dame Pliant. Not only were there changes in the casting practices, but also in the performance spaces themselves. The smaller, more intimate venues and the use of perspective stage painting created a new aesthetic for The Alchemist, which utilized a crisp interaction between the audience and the actors. As theatrical tastes changed, Jonson’s play faded from the stage. It did not regain popularity until the late 1730s when it was repeatedly performed for the court over the next two decades. In 1744, Corbyn Morris (a popular clown of the time) took on the role of Abel Drugger. This marked a shift in the approach to The Alchemist. For years to come, the play was used as a star vehicle rather than the ensemble comedy. The change was propelled by both the charisma of actors in the role and by changing tastes in comedy. There were also numerous spin-offs using the beloved characters from the play. Throughout the rest of the century and into the early 1800s, The Alchemist and its variations dominated not only the English stage but also surrounding regions as well. In the mid 1800s, Jonson’s work took a backseat to his more popular contemporary, William Shakespeare. In 1845, however, plans had begun for a star-filled production (including Charles Dickens as Mammon) at the St. James’ Theatre. Though this production did not reach the stage, it did renew interest in the lost Jonson comedy, which found new life in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The quick wit, fast pace and often elaborate period costumes made it an audience favorite in England and in the United States. There was even a 1938 musical adaptation, which was adapted for the silver screen in 1941. The Marx Brothers’ Room Service is a sharp example of a popular reworking of Jonson’s story and structure into a new form. Over the course of its stage history, the quick-paced comedy and mad characters of Jonson’s The Alchemist have inspired playwrights and theatre artists in their own adaptations of the work. Nonetheless, as the best productions of Jonson’s script have shown, The Alchemist continues to represent one of the most exhilarating, challenging and entertaining evenings of theatre in the dramatic canon.

Who’s Who in The Alchemist

THE GULLERS:

FACE: One of the principal con men of the play; as the butler to Master Lovewit, he provides access to the home which the scoundrels use to con their unsuspecting victims, and assumes various disguises. SUBTLE: The second of the principal con artists in the play, he primarily presents himself as “Doctor Subtle,” an alchemist, in order to swindle the citizens of London of their property and wealth. [In the time of Ben Jonson, “subtle” meant “crafty” or “clever.”] DOL COMMON: A prostitute and colleague of Face and Subtle. [Dol is short for Dorothy, and “Common” is a pun on her occupation, meaning that she belongs to everyone.]

THE GULLED:

DAPPER: A lawyer's clerk and a gambler; eager for quick wealth and a gullible social climber, who comes to Face and Subtle in hopes of obtaining a spirit to allow him to succeed at the gambling table. ABEL DRUGGER: A lower-class merchant who has just procured a shop; an honest and good (though not bright) man, he comes to the Doctor for help with with various aspects of his new tobacco shop. SIR EPICURE MAMMON: A wealthy knight with a mammoth appetite for luxuries and an epic imagination to match his sensual appetites, he seeks the Philosopher’s Stone in the hope of transforming his possessions into gold. [His name means “someone who is devoted to the satiation of the senses and material wealth.”] PERTINAX SURLY: A friend to Epicure Mammon who is very suspicious of the integrity of Doctor Subtle and his companions; he later disguises himself as a Spanish don to snare them in their own trap. He proposes to Dame Plaint in order to better his own financial state and to save her from being married off to one of the con men. ANANIAS : An exiled Anabaptist deacon now living in Amsterdam who is eager to strengthen his religious order; a fanatic zealot who is quick to condemn those who he does not see appropriate in his narrow brand of Christianity. [Ananias is named after the figure in the New Testament who was struck dead due to his greed.] TRIBULATION WHOLESOME : A pastor of Amsterdam, and a leader of the Anabaptist order; hungry for money for his devoted flock of followers. KASTRIL: An angry and insecure young rustic who seeks the aid of Subtle and Face to become skilled in quarreling. Very tyrannical when it comes to his sister, he is an ineffective quarreler in all ways. DAME PLIANT: A widow, and Kastril’s sister; she becomes the lust interest of several characters in the play. [Her name means “supple and flexible.”] MASTER LOVEWIT: The master of the house and Face’s employer, who loves wit and bawdy humor. Costume renderings for Master Lovewit and Dame Pliant by Nikki Delhomme.

Phlegma: watery distilled liquor; also an old chemistry term for water Putrefaction: the state of being putrid; the process of rotting Rivo Frontis: “ the front vein,” an important feature in telling fortunes Sangus agni: blood of the lamb in Christianity, relating to the idea of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. In alchemy, it is what many alchemists believe to be the last stage of perfecting the Elixer of Life Sapor pontic: a quality perceived by the sense of sour or tart taste Sapor Stiptic: having the power of a harsh or acidic taste that can cause the bowels or stomach to constrict Spagyrica: derived from spagyric: The science of alchemy or chemistry, or an alchemist. Often used in the search for the Philosopher’s Stone Sublime: causing matter to pass into a state of vapor Sulphureity: the principle of being sulphureous. Jonson is the only writer to use this term in literature Suscitability: the power of being roused or made alive Terra damnata: the residuum remaining after the distillation or sublimation of any substance; alchemist’s term for earth Terreity: the essential quality of earth; earthiness Tutie: a crude oxide of zinc found when melting brass. Once used medicinally, it is now commonly used in polishing powder Vivification: the process of converting into living tissue Zernich: a name given by alchemists to arsenic GENERAL TERMS Adalantado: the lord deputy or governor of a Spanish province Angel: a gold coin worth 10 shillings, stamped with the figure of the archangel Michael Ars Sacra: term used to describe medieval Christian art in metal, ivory, textiles and other high-value materials Botcher: an epithet given to the Puritan faction Buttery: A place for storing liquor Caul: the inner fetal membrane of higher vertebrates especially when covering the head at birth Chiaus: Turkish envoy; implied a cheat or swindler Clim o’ Cloughs: wordy heroes of romance Clout: a piece of cloth, leather, metal, etc., that is used to mend something Cockatrice: a fictional creature (both reptile and bird) believed to be able to kill with a mere glance—used as a term of reproach for a woman Coitum: coitus, sexual relations; Jonson is the only writer known to use this derivative of the term Compeer: an equal or peer Costermonger: a person who sells goods, especially fruits and vegetables, from a handcart in the street Cozen: to cheat Crosslet: a cruet or little pot, such as one used by goldsmiths to melt gold in Donzel: a young gentleman that is not yet knighted Doxy: prostitute or mistress Duello: the practice or the art of dueling Ephemerides: a diary or journal of daily occurrences often to do with the constellations and natural forces Firk: a smart sudden blow or stroke, as with a whip; a flick, flip; a cut or thrust (with a sword) Fucus: a paint, or cosmetic for the complexion Fumo: a hot vapor containing fine particles of carbon produced by combustion Homo frugi: a man described as honest, pious, temperate, and frugal Mammon: material wealth or possessions, especially as having a debasing influence Pelf: stolen goods, especially when gained in a dishonorable manner Portague: a gold Portuguese coin Scarab: a type of beetle Stella: Latin for “star” Talmud: Hebrew law Threaves: droves Three-pound-thrum-livery: a cheap, inexpensive servant Trencher-rascal: a poor person or beggar that eats from a trencher Trine: a group of three, a triad Troth: “true oath”; truth; a pledge of faith or loyalty Velvet head: referring to the velvet skullcap often worn by philosophers Verdugo: (Span.), hangman, executioner

ON THE PLAY: “When the cat’s away, the mice certainly do play in Ben Jonson’s 1610 comedy – a play that, like theatre itself, revels in lies and illusions.” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian “( The Alchemist is) a play about transformation, as it affects not metals, but human beings.” Anne Barton, Ben Jonson: Dramatis “In a curious way, what the fools of the play fail to do, the rogues almost achieve. That is, Face and Subtle and Dol do manage to convert the crudest raw materials imaginable —human greed, lust, vanity and stupidity— into gold by working the fools for all they are worth.” Alvin B. Kernan, Introduction to Ben Jonson: The Alchemist “The steadfast and imperturbable skill of hand which has woven so many threads of incident, so many shades of character, so many changes of intrigue, into so perfect and superb a pattern of incomparable art as dazzles and delights the reader of The Alchemist is unquestionably unique — above comparison with any later or earlier example of kindred genius in the whole range of comedy, f not in the whole world of fiction.” Algernon Charles Swinburne, A Study of Ben Jonson “Upon my word, I think the Oedipus Tyrannus , The Alchemist , and T om Jones , the three most perfect plots ever planned.” Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Table Talk ON BEN JONSON & HIS LEGACY: “The man who was more famous at his death than the author of Hamlet may have suffered from being the first celebrity playwright. We know far more about him than we do about Shakespeare. We know about his several imprisonments (he killed an actor and was prosecuted for ‘lewd and mutinous behavior’); we know... about his many strictures on other writers: he declared that Beaumont was too pleased with himself and Philip Sidney’s face was ‘spoiled with pimples.’ But we seldom see his plays.” Susannah Clapp, The Observer “In [Jonson’s] works you find little to retrench or alter. Wit, language, and humor, all in some measure, we had before him; but something of art was wanting in drama till he came.” John Dryden, Of Dramatic Poesy and Other Critical Essays “Ben Jonson is original; he is, indeed, the only one of the great dramatists of that day who was not either directly produced, or very greatly modified , by Shakespeare. In truth, he differs from our great master in everything —in form and in substance— and betrays not tokens of proximity. He is not original in the same way the Shakespeare is original; but after a fashion of his own, Ben Jonson is most truly original.” Samuel Coleridge, Coleridge’s Literary Criticism “Jonson was the more celebrated and multifariously accomplished figure during his time and in the years immediately after his death in 1637, but his plays are produced relatively rarely today — only Volpone and The Alchemist are widely known — and his poetry is read more rarely still.” Charles Isherwood, The New York Times “In a career lasting 40 years, this ‘huge overgrown play-maker’ – as he calls himself in The Staple of News – cast a correspondingly giant shadow over the Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Caroline literary landscapes. More than any of his contemporaries – more than Marlowe, Shakespeare, Spenser, or Donne, to name just the crème de la crème – this swaggering, learned, truculent and (let it never be forgotten) uproariously funny writer was a celebrity in his own time. And a generation after his death in 1637, when John Dryden looked back over the development of English theatre, it was Jonson rather than Shakespeare whom he singled out as ‘the greatest man of the last age’ – though he added a telling rider to this, saying: ‘I admire him, but I love Shakespeare.’” Charles Nichol, The Guardian & Commentary Criticism

Online The Alchemist

To view The Cambridge Edition of the works of Ben Jonson visit:

http://universitypublishingonline.org/cambridge/benjonson/

To try your hand at alchemy, try this fun online game:

http://littlealchemy.com/

To learn more about Jacobean drama and to see other examples visit:

http://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/periods/jacobean-iid-

by Ben Jonson Other Works

PLAYS

A Tale of a Tub, 1596 The Isle of Dogs , 1597 The Case is Altered , 1597– Every Man in His Humour , 1598; Every Man out of His Humour, 1599 Cynthia’s Revels, 1600 The Poetaste r, 1601 Sejanus His Fall, 1603 Eastward Ho, 1605, a collaboration with John Marston and George Chapman Volpone, 1605– Epicœne, or The Silent Woman , 1609 The Alchemist, 1610 Catiline His Conspiracy, 1611 Bartholomew Fair, 1614 The Devil is an Ass, 1616 The Staple of News, 1626 The New Inn, or The Light Heart , 1629 The Magnetic Lady, or Humors Reconciled , 1632 The Sad Shepherd, 1637, unfinished Mortimer His Fall, 1641, fragmented MASQUES The Coronation Triumph, or The King’s Entertainment, 1604 A Private Entertainment of the King and Queen on May-Day , 1604 The Entertainment of the Queen and Prince Henry at Althorp , 1603 The Masque of Blackness, 1605 Hymenae i, 1606 The Entertainment of the Kings of Great Britain and Denmark (The Hours ), 1606 The Masque of Beauty , 1608 The Masque of Queens , 1609 The Hue and Cry After Cupid, or The Masque at Lord Haddington’s Marriage, 1608 The Entertainment at Britain’s Burse, 1609 The Speeches at Prince Henry’s Barriers, or The Lady of the Lake, 1610 Oberon, the Faery Prince, 1611 Love Freed from Ignorance and Folly, 1611 Love Restored, 1612 A Challenge at Tilt, at a Marriage, 1613 The Irish Masque at Court, 1613 Mercury Vindicated from the Alchemists, 1615 The Golden Age Restored, 1616 Christmas, His Masque, 1616 The Vision of Delight, 1617 Lovers Made Men, or The Masque of Lethe, or The Masque at Lord Hay’s , 1617 Pleasure Reconciled to Virtue, 1618 For the Honour of Wales, 1618 News from the New World Discovered in the Moon, 1620 The Entertainment at Blackfriars, or The Newcastle Entertainment, 1620 Pan’s Anniversary, or The Shepherd’s Holy-Day , 1620 The Gypsies Metamorphosed, 1621 The Masque of Augurs , 1622 Time Vindicated to Himself and to His Honours , 1623 Neptune’s Triumph for the Return of Albion, 1624 The Masque of Owls at Kenilworth , 1624 The Fortunate Isles and Their Union , 1625 Love’s Triumph Through Callipolis , 1631 Chloridia: Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs , 1631 The King’s Entertainment at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire, 1633 Love’s Welcome at Bolsover, 1634 OTHER WORKS Epigrams, 1612 The Forest, 1616 On My First Sonne , 1616 A Discourse of Love , 1618 Barclay’s Argenis, translated by Jonson , 1623 The Execration against Vulcan , 1640 Horace’s Art of Poetry, translated by Jonson , 1640 Underwood, 1640 English Grammar, 1640