Presented by State Theatre Company
By Ben Jonson in a new adaptation by Emily Steel


Good morning to the day; and next my gold: Open the shrine, that I may see my saint.
 

Meet Volpone—wealthy con-artist, master of disguise and self-proclaimed ladies man. Armed with natural cunning and his wily sidekick Mosca, he tricks and swindles his way through the corrupt city of Venice.

From flogging snake oil to feigning his own demise, no scheme is too despicable or too outlandish in Volpone’s pursuit of trophy riches and trophy women. Ben Jonson’s Volpone is a grotesque comedy about obsessive greed and a con-trick that spins wildly out of control. This savage satire of avarice and lust ranks amongst the finest of Jacobean comedies.

First performed in 1605, Jonson’s play is as relevant today as it was then, with its scathing critique of the desire for wealth and power achieved at any moral cost.

Director Nescha Jelk (Othello, Jesikah, Random) combines with master clown Paul Blackwell and the extraordinary imaginations of designer Jonathon Oxlade (Pinocchio) and writer Emily Steel (Man in a Bag, Sepia) to create a shiny bright new world for Volpone to live in—one that might just bear a striking likeness to our own.