Satire
The Princess Pourquoi
Once upon a time, a princess was born, and a fairy cursed her with a mind: "She is a woman-child, and yet she shall think. She shall be…
The New Republic
A group of upper class men and women gather together in an English country house to discuss their ideas for a utopia (their "New Republ…
The Curtezan Unmasked
"The Curtezan unmasked or, the Whoredomes of Jezebel Painted to the Life: With Antidotes against them, or Heavenly Julips to cool Men i…
The Knight of the Burning Pestle
The Knight of the Burning Pestle is a play in five acts, first performed in 1607. It is the first whole parody (or pastiche) play in English…
The Physician In Spite of Himself
The Physician In Spite of Himself … is written in a most unbounded spirit of mirth, the matrimonial breezes wafting a certain amount of refr…
In the Sweet Dry and Dry
Written just before Prohibition to entail the possible troubles that might happen en route. Both sides of the argument, or battle as the cas…
The Vegetable
"Any man who doesn’t want to get on in the world, to make a million dollars, and maybe even park his toothbrush in the White House, has…
The House with the Green Shutters
The House with the Green Shutters is a novel by the Scottish writer George Douglas Brown, first published in 1901 by John MacQueen. Set in m…
Monsieur De Pourceaugnac
'Monsieur de Pourceaugnac', acted on October 6, 1669, is nothing but a farce. But Molière excels in farce as well as in higher comedy…
The Green Carnation
The Green Carnation, first published anonymously in 1894, was a scandalous novel by Robert Hichens whose lead characters are closely based o…
The Litigants
This play, which is neither a comedy or a farce but has elements in common with each, was first performed in 1668 at Paris, and afterwards a…
A Family of Noblemen
Meet the Golovliovs, the ultimate dysfunctional family. In the difficult transition years before and after the liberation of Russia’s serfs,…
Mr. Punch's Pocket Ibsen
These short comic parodies of five well-known tragedies by Henrik Ibsen originally appeared in Punch, the British humor magazine. From the p…
The Conscious Lovers
As early as 1720 Steele spoke in the Theatre of "a friend of mine" who was lately preparing a comedy according to the just laws of…
H.M.S. Pinafore
In this recording, one person reads the entire play, all parts, including the stage directions. Even without the support of Arthur Sullivan…
Conversation, as it was by the Social Fireside
Please note: this recording contains strong language."1601," wrote Mark Twain, "is a supposititious conversation which takes …
Gargantua and Pantagruel
The five-volume work chronicling the adventures of father Gargantua and son Pantagruel is a vehicle for Rabelais' satire of sixteenth-centur…
Moonbeams from the Larger Lunacy
Moonbeams from the Larger Lunacy offers a collection of sharp and witty reflections on life in the early 20th century, penned by the renowne…
The Henry Morgan Show
Caustic half-hour satires by the cantankerous comedian and future "I've Got a Secret" panelist.
The Learned Women
Two young people, Henriette and Clitandre, are in love, but in order to marry, they must overcome an obstacle: the attitude of Henriette's f…