Satire
Mrs. Pretty and The Premier
The Premier has decided that being married would be good for his image. He asks his stenographer for advice: (Premier) Good. Just jot me dow…
Bill Nye and Boomerang
Humorist Bill Nye was the first editor of the daily paper in Laramie, Wyoming, and named it the Laramie Boomerang in honor of his mule. As …
A Traveller from Altruria
Set in the early 1890s, at a fashionable summer resort somewhere on the East Coast of the United States, this book tells the story of Mr. T…
The Follies of a Day
This is Thomas Holcroft's English translation, obtained by attending Pierre Beaumarchais' French play nine times in Paris during its origina…
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…
Candida
This play tells the story of Candida, the wife of a famous clergyman, the Reverend James Mavor Morell. Morell is a Christian Socialist, po…
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 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…
Prejudices
Mencken is famous for his sometimes-savage attacks on almost everything humans can in their stupidity and priggishness and prejudice conjure…
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…
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,…
Matinee With Bob And Ray
Bob and Ray have issues with their musicians as they attempt to perform a "Lights On" drama called, "The Groping Hand." …
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 …
The World of Fashion
This Victorian-era dramedy was adapted by playwright/critic John Oxenford from Eugene Scribe and Ernst Legouvé’s “Les doigts de f&eac…
Bob and Ray
In this episode of Bob and Ray, originally aired on December 27th, 1973, the first day of filming is filled with comedic mishaps as Harry st…
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…
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 Tenth Cow
When Teddy Kagan finds a pure red heifer (heifer: a young, virgin cow) on the Florida ranch of a TV evangelist, he knows - because he knows …
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…
Dryden vs Shadwell
Throughout history there have been many creative artists whose fame depends largely on their association with a much greater artist. Such th…