For Sunday Salons, APL casts actors to read classic and/or provocative plays we want to engage as thinking artists but don’t intend to produce. We invite anyone interested in the play or its context to share the experience. Each Salon is a unique, dynamic assembly of artists, intellectuals, provocateurs, friends, and family. We read, drink, eat, and — with minimal moderation — let discussion go where it will.
THE PLAY
In 1909, Austrian artist Julius Klinger illustrated Sodom for a privately published edition (Leipzig). The series contains 16 Beardsley-esque images.
One of the most flagrantly outrageous works in the English language, The Farce of Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery is an obscene Restoration closet drama published in 1684. The play is a political satire about the debaucherous court of England’s King Charles II and his tolerance of Catholicism which, as far as post-Restoration Protestants were concerned, was buggery.
In the fictional Kingdom of Sodom, King Bolloxinion legalizes same-sex sodomy for the preservation of his female subjects’ genitalia. General erotic madness ensues. General Buggeranthus reports that the soldiers have embraced the new authorization as it saves them on the cost of prostitutes. Women turn to “dildoes and dogs.” The Prince & Princess engage in an incestuous relationship. The Queen dies of venereal disease. And while the court physician recommends men should find their pleasure with women again, the King is determined to live out his days an enthusiastic sodomite.
We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the socio-political context of Restoration England prior to the event.
And for those interested, you can see parts of Sodom performed in The Libertine (2004), with Johnny Depp playing Rochester and John Malkovich as Charles II.
TRIGGER WARNING!
The Farce of Sodom is rife with foul language and obscene content. Do not attend if you are squeamish about either.
THE PLAYWRIGHT
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
Although publication was anonymous and authorship is still disputed, Sodom is generally attributed to John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 – 26 July 1680). Rochester was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II’s Restoration court. A rake in his poetry and his life, he committed treason in 1669 by boxing the ears of Thomas Killigrew (English dramatist and manager of one of only two licensed theatres, he was later Master of Revels) in sight of the monarch, and in 1673 he accidentally delivered an insulting diatribe to the King. He died at the age of 33 of syphilis. While contemporaries praised him as a satirist, his work was censored during the Victorian era and only began to enjoy a revival in the 1920s. He is best known for A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind. More about John Wilmot.
CAST
BOLLOXINIAN, King of Sodom – Carter Rodriquez
CUNTIGRATIA, His Queen – Margaretta Campagna
PRICKETT, Young Prince – Troy Mink
SWIVIA, Princess – Samantha Routh
BUGGERANTHUS, General of the Army – Joseph Lavy
POCKENELLO, Pimp, catamite and the King’s Favourite – Samantha Routh
BORASTUS, Buggermaster-general – Annie Paladino
PENE & TOOLY, Pimps of Honour – Joseph Lavy & Troy Mink
LADY OFFICINA, She-pimp of Honour – Carrie Cates
FUCKADILLA, Maid of Honour – Samantha Routh
CUNTICULA, Maid of Honour – Annie Paladino
CLITORIS, Maid of Honour – Zhenya Lavy
FLUX, Physician-in-ordinary to the King – Joseph Lavy
VIRTUOSO, Dildo and Merkin maker to the Court – Troy Mink
MESSENGER – Zhenya Lavy
TOOLY – Troy Mink
With Zhenya Lavy reading possibly the best stage directions in English Dramatic Literature!
~ Angeline Goreau (Reconstructing Aphra: A Social Biography of Aphra Behn. 1980. 165-66.)
FOOD
Salons are potluck. Please bring a dish and/or drink to share. Theme according to the play… or not!
FOR YOUR COMFORT
Seating is ample, but feel free to bring a cushion if you prefer the floor.
ACCESSIBILITY
Our location has a lot of stairs to navigate (15 just to enter) and, unfortunately, no current access options to avoid them.
SCHEDULE
4:00pm Arrivals. Mingling and food/drinks.
5:15-5:30pm Reading begins, to be followed by discussion.
10:00pm End time is a best guess. Leave when you need to; we allow the discussion to run its course.
ABSOLUTELY NO CHILDREN AT THE SODOM SALON!
Due to the adult content, we must insist that children not accompany parents to this particular Salon.
NOTE TO OUR ACTORS WHO ARE READING
We distribute the play digitally. Please bring your own printed copy to the Salon or a device to view the file. Wifi onsite.
