It is 1665. As London spirals toward disaster in plague-time, a wealthy aristocrat and his invalid wife remain under quarantine inside their lavish home. In the middle of the night, two intruders –- a sailor and a mysterious girl –- break in and start demanding food. In the ensuing days, all behave according to their accustomed roles. Yet. as time drags on, the boundaries that defined life, previously, are rewritten and abandoned: the master and the servant switch, gender roles turn somersaults, and a stately marriage is nullified by passion. In this gripping drama, playwright Naomi Wallace applies her supreme gifts to the social morays of Elizabethan times. The result feels like an ultimatum, urgent and intense, for the present moment.
One Flea Spare guide sections
