A cast of 80 professional actors will premiere 10 funny and bawdy new comedy plays by Mark Ravenhill, all modern takes on storylines from the 1600s that are a cross between Shakespeare, Chaucer, bedroom farce and the Carry On films. Under the collective title, Run At It Laughing, the rehearsed readings will take place over a marathon 48 hours at Wilton’s Music Hall on 9 and 10 May.
A world in which everyone is a fool, identities are mistaken and swapped, misunderstandings abound, sex and money are on everyone’s mind and, somehow, everything works out for the best, Run At It Laughing is a bawdy, farcical and humane celebration of comedy and our shared humanity. Based on scenarios first published in Italy in 1611, this epic programme of theatre, delivered over two days, is a cycle of 10 90-minute new comedies presented as rehearsed readings. Each play can be enjoyed on its own or as part of the sequence.
Mark Ravenhill, whose previous works include Shopping and F-ing, Mother Clap’s Molly House and Ben and Imo, wrote the plays, one a month, over the past year, working alongside professional actors at Run At It Shouting workshops. He says, “During the workshops, one of the actors said, ‘It’s a bit like a Carry On film written by Shakespeare’. That’s the sweet spot I’m aiming for, Matron!
“In 1610, the Italian actor and impresario Flaminio Scala published a huge collection of scenarios for comic plays, drawing on his experience as a performer in the Commedia dell’arte from the 1580s onwards. In 1611, after a long career in the theatre, he published a volume of 50 full-length plays. There were no written scenes or dialogues in the volume. Simply a four page outline for each of the plays. The plays had been improvised, using the scenarios, in the 1570s and 1580s by an Italian troupe. These were the first fully professional actors in Europe and the first to include women as equal members of the company. One of these female actors, Isabella Andreini, became the most famous performer of her day. The company played an annual season in Paris, where they were seen by an international audience. These 50 plays, and Scala’s published scenarios, formed the foundation of much of the theatre that followed. Elements of plot and character appear in Shakespeare, in his Spanish contemporary Lope de Vega and in Moliere. But, being improvised, the influence of these plays has mostly been forgotten.
“Scala’s scenario’s became the ‘pattern book’ for the next generation of playwrights. The majority of the plays outlined are comedies. They are sexually frank, with the women given as much agency as the men. They are socially acute, depicting the newly rich mixing with the urban poor and new migrants from the countryside. They are grounded in money, sex and the body. Above all they are generous: it’s a world in which we are all fools and we all need to find a way to get along.
“My aim has not been to make a historical reconstruction. I was drawn to the scenarios’ generosity of spirit and their comic energy. It seemed to me to be something which we need in these divisive times. My aim has been to write plays that allow contemporary audiences to laugh and to celebrate our shared humanity.
“Each of the plays puts the same characters in different situations. While it’s enjoyable to see one of these plays, there’s a cumulative pleasure in seeing several. Or even 10 of them. As you get to know the characters, there’s an extra level of comedy and recognition. Much as there is with contemporary sitcom. This is why I’ve decided to present a marathon rehearsed reading of the plays over the two days of May 9/10 at Wilton’s Music Hall. A total of 15 hours of new comic writing, involving dozens of actors who’ve been involved in the workshops.”
The scheduled programme of readings is as follows, Friday 9 May: Noon-1330 – Show 1 | 1330-1400 Interval | 1400-1530 Show 2 | 1530-1600 Interval | 1600-17.30 Show 3 | 1730-18.00 Interval | 1800-1930 Show 4 | 1930-2000 Interval 2000 – 2130 Show 5.
Saturday 10 May, Noon-1330 Show 6 | 1330-1400 Interval | 1400-1530 Show 7 | 1530-1600 Interval 1600-1730 Show 8 | 1730-1800 Interval | 1800-19.30 Show 9 | 1930-2000 Interval | 2000-2130 Show 10.
Profits from this event will be donated to the Nia Project, which delivers cutting edge services to end violence against women and children.
Tickets are priced £12 for first episode, then £8 for subsequent episodes or £40 for a one of a limited number of Weekend Passes. Tickets here.
