Venice, Easter 1895. In the cafes around St Mark's Square, all the gossip among the English ex-pat community is about two mysterious arrivals in the city. There is surely more to 'Mr and Mrs Cleeve' than meets the eye. Agnes Ebbsmith is a young widow with a scandalous past of political activism and radical preaching. Travelling with her is Lucas Cleeve, an up-and-coming Tory MP who has abandoned his wife in London. Defying convention, Agnes and Lucas are refusing to marry, and living in a 'compact' together. But before long their peace is shattered by the arrival of Lucas's aristocratic family from London. This is a funny, dramatic, and utterly enthralling play by one of the greatest Victorian dramatists. This is its first ever revival and marks a major theatrical rediscovery. Arthur Wing Pinero was the foremost playwright of the Victorian theatre. The Notorious Mrs Ebbsmith was last performed by Mrs Patrick Campbell in the West End in 1895.| 8 Apr 14 to 3 May 14 | Jermyn Street Theatre Inner London, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
