Charley's Aunt - A Victorian Farce in Two Acts

Charley's Aunt is a hugely popular vintage farce

It was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds in February 1892 and quickly transferred to London's Globe Theatre where it broke the record for the world's longest-running play, clocking up 1,466 performances

But although the central conceit is as theatrical and funny as ever, after more than a 120 years, its creaky stagecraft and laboured humour urgently needed a make-over

And here it is!

This version retains the essence of the original but re-visions it for a modern audience, reducing the original three acts to two and replacing the dense and archaic Victorian script with modern formatting and clear and concise stage directions

But most of all, it enlivens the stale characters and gives the piece the much needed pace and energy demanded by a modern audience

And it's still Royalty Free!

Provided you purchase a cast-size quantity of scripts (10+ copies), as a gift to the theatre community, Paul Thain has waived his Royalties for all of 2021

It's still set in an Oxford college in 1892 where Charles (Charley) Wykeham uses the imminent arrival of his aunt Donna Lucia as an opportunity to invite two young ladies to his rooms for lunch

But when her visit is postponed and they're without a chaperone, rather than cancel the lunch party, Charles and Jack persuade their fellow student Lord Fancourt to impersonate the Aunt

Lord Fancourt relishes the opportunity and particularly enjoys being kissed by the girls and sharing their confidences

So much so, he stubbornly refuses to abandon his role

But then the real Donna Lucia turns up ...

TO READ THE OPENING SCENES, click here

FOR A PDF DOWNLOAD, click here