17:20, Thu 4th – Fri 26th August 2005 at Cave One, Smirnoff Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe
17:20, Sun 28th – Mon 29th August 2005 at Cave One, Smirnoff Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe
Summer Vacation

Sir Theodore Volpone – billionaire, media tycoon, 21st century icon... dying? This gothic adaptation of a classic play, given a shot of adrenalin for the Fox News generation, offers a satire on contemporary life and our instant news culture, asking the questions most wouldn’t dare. Examining the corruption of wealth, the exploitation of power and the co-modification of the sexes through the medium of the media, this show promises to transform the theatre into a live newsroom! Cutting edge and up to the minute – with daily rewrites to keep the audience updated on world events – come and enjoy a truly innovative piece of theatre that resets Ben Jonson’s dark Jacobean comedy in a multimedia framework.

Volpone satiates his greed by feigning illness to trick his friends and colleagues out of money. But he always wants more, and when he spies Celia Corvino, the beautiful and brilliant barrister wife of one of his associaties, he cannot resist. His humble servant Mosca aids him all he can, but his intentions are far from innocent either. The farce of the original play forms a brutal amalgam with the politics, lust, and greed of the 21st century. Come witness the humour and the horror... come deceive and be deceived.