Lost Shakespearean play to return on stage after 200 yrs
By ANIFriday, January 14, 2011
LONDON - ‘Double Falsehood’, a controversial lost play by Shakespeare will be shown at the National Theatre for the first time since the 18th century.
The inclusion of the play in Arden’s complete work’s of Shakespeare last year inspired the Mokitagrit theatre company to mount a production.
Although the play is far from a household name, director Phil Wilmott said there is something for everyone.
“There’s lots of action, cliffhangers, romance, betrayal, friendship, rape and revenge… an action-packed story which everyone will enjoy,” the Sky News quoted him as saying.
‘Double Falsehood’ is a tragicomedy thought to be based on Cervantes’ Don Quixote.
It was first shown at London’s Theatre Royal in 1727 - 150 years after it was written by the Bard and was last shown somewhere in Covent Garden in 1793.
In Elizabethan times, when Shakespeare lived, many plays were written collaboratively - Double Falsehood was written with John Fletcher.
But it was later tinkered with in the 18th century by the lawyer and pantomime writer Lewis Theobald.
Experts say, although a bit of a hotchpotch, Shakespeare’s writing shines through. (ANI)
