Wealthy Volpone, assisted by his wily servant Mosca, convinces the rich citizens of Venice that he is dying so that they give him presents in the hope that he will make them his heir. 

Writer and director Martin Foreman updated the language and setting of Ben Jonson’s fierce Jacobean satire to the 19th century. In this new two-act version Mosca is now a woman, as is one of the heir-hunters, Corbaccia.  Some minor characters are dropped but the farcical scenes with Lady Would-Be, her husband Sir Politic and the prankster Peregrine remain. Jonson’s jokes that stand the test of time are retained throughout while others are added to keep the laughter coming.

The 2017 run was produced by EGTG; the 2018 run pictured above, with Alastair Lawless and Vanashree Thapliyal reprising the leading roles, was produced by Arbery Theatre.