On election night, I’d managed to win two free tickets to PN’s Centrepoint Theatre, and its side-splittingly funny production, The Mystery of Irma Vep. I haven’t laughed so hard in ages…

Poor Lady Enid Hillcrest is in a pretty pickle. It’s not just her servants, the scrofulous stableboy Nicodemus, or the sniffy ladies maid, Jane Twisen. For another thing, there’s the old Egyptian mummy queen (…) that her husband, Egyptologist Lord Edgar Hillcrest has dragged (…) back from Cairo. Edgar’s first wife, Lady Irma Vep Hillcrest, also casts a funereal pall over the proceedings, given that she passed away in mysterious circumstances. And then there’s Mandacrest Estate itself , a creaking pile of a stately homo which is surrounded by mist-covered moors, and populated with sundry werewolves, vampires, and various other eldritch horrors!

The Mystery of Irma Vep (1984) is a faaaaaaaaaaabulously campy parody of  B-grade Hammer horror movies,  Victorian gothic penny dreadful crime thrillers and gorgeous frocks! And so it should, because  it was the product of a gay playwright, Charles Ludlam (1943-1987).

Adapted from Wikipedia, here’s a brief look at the playwright’s life:

Ludlam was born in New York. His sexual orientation was obvious from his teenage years, when he attended Harborfields High School. During this time, he learnt the craft of  community theatre in New York state. In his last year of high school he directed, produced and performed in plays by Strindberg, O’Neill and others with local fellow drama students. . He received a degree in dramatic literature from Hofstra University in 1964, by which time he had confirmed his homosexuality…five years before Stonewall!

Ludlam joined John Vaccaro’s Playhouse of the Ridiculous. He established his own  Ridiculous Theatrical Company in New York City in 1967 after a difference of creative opinion.  After his Bluebeard he wrote more structured works, which consisted of pastiches of gothic novels, Shakespeare, Wagner, popular culture, old movies, and anything else that attract laughter. Theater critic Brendan Gill  observed: “This isn’t farce. This isn’t absurd. This is absolutely ridiculous!”. Ludlam usually appeared in his plays, and was particularly noted for his female roles as a drag diva.

Ludlam ended his life as an acclaimed drama teacher, who had taught or staged productions at New York University, Connecticut College for Women, Yale University, and Carnegie Mellon University. His pursuit of excellence was realised during his lifetime, given that he won several fellowships from the Guggenheim, Rockefeller and Ford Foundations. He also received  grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts. Finally, he won four Obie Awards, as well as the Rosamund Gilder Award for distinguished achievement in the theater in 1986.

He came out as HIV+ quite early, but was diagnosed with AIDS in March 1987. He attempted to fight the disease through health foods and macrobiotic diets.  PCP pneumonia led to his sadly premature end in St. Vincent’s Hospital, New York.

The Mystery of Irma Vep is his enduring masterpieve. In this production, two actors use rapid quick-change techniques, and seven roles onstage during the course of two hours. In the original production (1984) Ludlam and his lover Everett Quinton were a tour de force. Performing rights enforce crossdressing through stipulations that the actors must be of the same sex. In 1991, Irma Vep became the most produced play in the United States.

And may I say that Stephen Butterworth and Jason Ward Kennedy are wonderful in their roles at Centrepoint’s performance.

Contact Details:

The Mystery of Irma Vep is playing at Palmerston North’s Centrepoint Theatre (280 Church Street)  from November 8 to December 20 (8.00- 10.00 pm). Ticket prices range from $35 (adults) to $30 (senior citizens); $20 (CSC and Senior Gold Card Holders) and $12 (students): http://www.centrepoint.co.nz