A clipping from the Arts & Letters section of the Londinium Herald-Gazette for the @girlgeni

A clipping from the Arts & Letters section of the Londinium Herald-Gazette for the @girlgeniusevents Spring Event Week.May 16th is Fantasy! Presented for your entertainment: a newspaper article about a theoretical theatrical work that Master Payne’s Circus of Adventure might possibly perform whilst exiled in England.(Transcription under the cut.)Londinium Herald-Gazette - The Finest News Beneath the WavesArticle: New Work By Payne’s Troupe to Premiere SundayBy Eureka Miller, Arts & Entertainment CorrespondentMaster Payne’s Circus of Adventure is set to debut their newest original work, “Much Ado About Mechanicsburg,” this Sunday at Londinium’s newly renovated Aquarius Playhouse. The return of Payne’s troupe to the Aquarius has been much anticipated, with tickets for the initial engagement selling out just two days after the box office opened.Followers of theatrical news will recall that the troupe’s last original offering, “The New Heterodyne Adventures: Betrayal at the Battle of Sturmhalten,” was forced to close early due to catastrophic flooding that afflicted the Aquarius in June of last year. Believed to have been caused by a blocked spillway at Hydraulic Pump no. 74, floodwaters took theatre-goers by surprise as water began to fill the Aquarius during the second act of “Betrayal.” Players continued the show even as the flooding worsened, leading to an unforgettable rendition of the “You were once my sister” monologue in Scene 5 as the actors were obligated to stand on chairs, and then to tread water near the end. Act III was delayed for 15 minutes as both patrons and actors were forced to activate the emergency lifeboats and flee the inundated theatre, but even an abrupt change of venue was not enough to put a stop to the show. The performance continued at the nearby Elephant’s Keep Pub on Footlights Lane, and ended with a standing ovation that lasted for seventeen minutes.“An incredible performance,” Lord Moonbark, who was in attendance, was quoted saying. “Most of us thought the water was part of act, at least until one of the jugglers was bitten by a clam. Things got a little dicey when we all had to swim for the emergency exits, but I’ll never forget the staging of the final battle. The actors tipped over one of the life boats and started to recite their lines atop the hull, right in the pub’s beer garden. We were all on our feet cheering! What a show.”Though the Aquarius was nearly destroyed in the flooding, a generous grant from Her Undying Majesty’s Council for the Promotion of Stagecraft and Theatrical Arts allowed for the playhouse to be rebuilt, and for Payne’s troupe to convert their stage show into a touring production of “Betrayal” for the duration of reconstruction. Payne’s troupe has reportedly been in talks with the United British Radio Broadcasters Guild to license a radio drama adaptation of the work, with an inside source saying that both parties were “excited to bring the drama to a new, totally unsuspecting audience.”“Much Ado About Mechanicsburg” has been billed as a romantic comedy. Although the show has yet to open, rumors are already swirling that the troupe may be called to give a command performance of the new work for Her Britannic Majesty. If so, this would be the second such performance Payne’s company has given since their arrival from the continent a little less than three years ago – an honor only a handful of Londinium’s most prestigious native theatre companies can claim. -- source link

More pics about