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A Servant to Two Masters

A Servant to Two Masters

Date: 2013-05-09
Lloyd Grant O' Connor is directing Carlo Goldoni's commedia dell'arte masterpiece A Servant to Two Masters, is a boisterous comedy of mistaken identity, broken engagements and heart-sore lovers, which comes to the Courtyard Theatre at DUT from 11 - 17 May.

A Servant to Two Masters is the fourth DUT drama production so far this year. It is a much-revered theatrical classic written by Carlo Goldoni, adapted by Lee Hall, from a literal translation by Gwenda Pandolfi written in contemporary dialogue, translated in 1990.

It is a farcical, high-flung low-brow comedy about a hungry servant, Truffaldino, who schemes to double his wages (and also his meals!) by serving two masters at once. The play centres round his hilarious antics, schemes and plots.

Despite the plays comic content the play begins with a revelation of a murder, unseen by the audience and most of the characters. We meet Beatrice, a woman who has travelled to Venice, disguised as her dead brother Federigo Rasponi, in search of the man, Florindo, who killed him. Her brother forbade her to marry Florindo, and he died defending his sister's honour.

The subsequent action deals with how the various characters desire for revenge, money, marriage, love... and a meal, is hugely complicated, muddled and confused and is finally resolved by the intervention of... the servant to two masters.

The production is hugely accessible to audiences, and is often compared in style and spirit to some of Shakespeare's comedies. A more contemporary comparison would be to the Black Adder series. It uses stock characters in the commedia dell'arte style.

The play echoes contemporary SA with its addressing some pertinent issues - albeit in a comical manner - such as murder, deceit and fraud.

A Servant to Two Masters features a cast of 13 from first, second and third students. Direction and design is by Lloyd Grant O' Connor.

Date:11 - 17 May 2013, Venue: Courtyard Theatre, Time: 19h00, Tickets: R35. For more info: Lebohang Sibisi tel: 031 - 373 2194.