Irma Vep

We finished out the week, with another visit to the theater. This time it was at the Rep. The night’s vehicle was a light hearted farce, The Mystery of Irma Vep. This play is performed by only two actors, who between them play eight characters, with dozens of costume changes. This play is a satire of melodrama, farce and penny dreadful genres. It is loosely based upon a 1915 movie, Les Vampires. Irma Vep’s name is an anagram of vampire.

Here is the Wiki synopsis of the play:

Mandacrest Estate is the home of Lord Edgar, an Egyptologist, and Lady Enid. Lady Enid is Lord Edgar’s second wife, though he has yet to recover entirely from the passing of his first wife, Irma Vep. The house staff, a maid named Jane Twisden and a swineherd named Underwood, have their own opinions of Lady Enid. Enid is attacked by a vampire, and Edgar seeks answers in an Egyptian tomb, briefly resurrecting the mummy of an Egyptian princess. Returning home with the sarcophagus, Edgar prepares to hunt down the werewolf he blames for the death of his son and first wife. Meanwhile, Enid discovers Irma locked away, supposedly to coax out the location of precious jewels from her. Wresting the keys to Irma’s cell from Jane, Enid frees Irma only to discover the prisoner is, in fact, Jane herself, actually a vampire, and the killer of Irma as well as her and Edgar’s son. Underwood, now a werewolf, kills Jane, only to be shot dead by Edgar. In the end, Enid prevents Edgar from writing about his experiences in Egypt, revealing she was the princess herself, the whole thing an elaborate sham by her father to discredit Edgar. They reconcile.

Before the show, we had dinner at our new favorite restaurant in Webster, Frisco. Anne had their roasted chicken and I had the walleye special. Both of which were very good. This show concludes our theatrical outings for a while.