Author Description

'Ben Johnson's timeless satire.' Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out London, 02/09/10 A dramatist edition of Ben Jonson's famous comedy of London life, dating from 1610. The Alchemist has been described as 'the greatest farce in the English language. Ben Jonson's rich play offers intriguing insights into London life of the early seventeenth century. He satirizes and celebrates the confusions and anarchy of a fast-moving city world populated by a fascinating array of diverse and devious characters. The difference between the plot of The Alchemist and the plot of tragedy is not a difference of logical structure. It is simply a difference of attitude toward life. Tragedy treats of characters and events seriously, under the inexorable domination of the law of fate, while comedy treats of characters and events humorously, under the inexorable adjustment of social conventions.