Nuts in May: A Subject of Scandal and Concern (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798271226977)

Workshop Theatre Three

NUTS in MAY is an imaginative reworking of Pirandello's 'theatre of the grotesque', a type of tragicomic drama which appeared in Italy as a reaction to naturalism, its cast of characters seemingly controlled by a mysterious life-force: a force that appears to be both inexplicable and implacable, impelling change while at the same time resisting change. In short, these characters strive for and against themselves, and also, disturbingly, within themselves.

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The central poetic of this drama is the human impossibility of reaching the truth or even determining its value, for what is true for one person may not necessarily be true for others. The dramatic action of this play centres on a futile attempt to establish which of two outsiders is crazy: Mrs Frola claims a certain young woman is her own daughter, whereas the fiercely-passionate Mr Ponza claims that this same woman is not the lady's daughter but his own second wife.

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Lambert Laudisi's domestic situation is a focus-of-interest for the unmerciful curiosity - and also serves as a butt for the innate cruelty - of his own typically-provincial family, as well as for the broader community.
Lambert discovers that his affluent life is being overwhelmed. Perhaps it is just bad luck that he has been caught out by his own Karma, or that he has been found out by the workings of the pagan Weird.

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Lambert considers himself a business man; his niece calls him a gangster. While whatever-is-happening to Lambert blindly takes its course, Lambert's personal life becomes ever-the-more bizarre, as whatsoever was previously-hidden is now being exposed. And as Lambert's social mask reveals just as much as ever it concealed, so inexorably Lambert's cosy 'world' becomes ever-the-more-strange and uncomfortable.

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"...a Mask conceals the Face until no longer there's a Face..."

Author: Natalia Wyvern,Dryden Taylor
ISBN-13: 9798271226977
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 10/24/2025
Pages: 62
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.21lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.13d