The Alchemist at Sweet Tea Shakespeare

Samuel Coleridge believed that the three best plots in literature were Oedipus Rex, Henry Fielding’s Tom Jones, and Ben Jonson’s early modern play, The Alchemist. Set amidst a time of plague, three swindling rogues, Face, Subtle, and Doll Common, set up shop in the house of their master, who has fled from London to the country to escape the pandemic. As the cons and dupes pile up, the three try to maintain their ruses with a series of disguises, tricks, and double-crosses. Full of extravagant language, farcical action, and comic hijinks, The Alchemist was performed by The King’s Men in Shakespeare’s time, and has had many successful revivals with its combination of sharp wit and unrelenting momentum.e.

Authors

• Ben Johnson
• Ben Jonson