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The Libertine
Author(s):
Stephen Jeffreys
"You will not like me. No, I say you will not," taunts the Earl of Rochester at the opening of this riotously funny and intriguing comedy of sexual manners…based on the life of John Wilmot, second Earl of Rochester (1647-80), poet and satirist. "The Libertine presents Rochester as the ultimate, sensation-seeking product of a decadent era. 'You see I must always exceed, or I don't feel I'm alive,' says the Earl. And when confronted with a comedy based on his life, George Etherege's Man of Mode, he heatedly remarks,'I am the age.'" (NY Times) "Given the play's title, you might also expect it to be appalling. But…Jeffreys' work is so rigorous in its emotional truth, so complex in its intellectual arguments, and so comical when comedy is the only fallback position, that nothing…seems gratuitous… The play's pivotal character…is a man who has essentially backed himself into a corner. When we meet him in 1675, he is just 28—a writer and dramatist of reputed brilliance, a sexual adventurer of polymorphous tastes, a feverish alcoholic and reigning mischief-maker. He amuses the degenerate but shrewd king… But his irreverence is losing acceptability and Rochester is sternly reminded that "there is a time to be for things." Caught in a state of arrested development, he continues to compulsively test the limits of his society… Most perilous of all, however, Rochester is a romantic. When he falls madly in love with Elizabeth Barry…the young actress he attempts to mold, he is confronted by a woman who is more than his match. And his downfall is set in motion… Barry loves Rochester but refuses to become his sacrificial lamb. Rochester's wife…may be a more conventional woman, taking her husband back, again and again as he staggers home in sickness and desperation. But…she, too, is no pushover. And in this subversively feminist play, even the prostitute…is on to Rochester and pragmatically makes her way past him. Framing this vicious tug-of-war between men and women is a morally corrupt society rotting from the top down. The Libertine deals with classic moral issues in a vivid, contemporary way. And as our national political scene erupts with talk of 'values,' it raises piercing questions about all forms of extremity." (Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times) Area staging
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| Genre(s): | Not Available | | Time Period(s): | Not Available | | Play Type: | Play | | Runtime: | 106 minutes | | Acts: | Not Available | | Set Complexity: | Not Available | | Set Information: | Not Available | | Year First Published: | Not Available | | Total Characters: | 13 | | Male Characters: | 8 | | Female Characters: | 5 | | Androgynous Characters: | 0 | | Minimum Cast: | Not Available | | Maximum Cast: | Not Available | | Cost: |
On application
Royalty/cost information prone to change.
Please check with the publisher for the most accurate information. | | Publisher: | Dramatic Publishing
Click on the publisher's name above for additional information, including updated prices. | | ISBN: | null
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