Knight of the Burning Pestle

Audiences in 1607 did not know what to make of it. Its first publisher in 1613 declared that “this unfortunate child was written in 8 days and exposed to the wide world who utterly rejected it.” In fact, not until the Restoration in 1688 did it find an audience sophisticated enough to appreciate its satirical vulgarity. The first leading lady of the English stage, Nell Gwynn, enjoyed great success in the role of Luce. It has received sporadic revivals since then and I like to believe was the spiritual forerunner of such modern parodies as Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail. As Eric Idle pointed out recently at the premiere of Spamalot, “it is once again a good time for intelligent folk to get silly.” So now for something completely different...enjoy The Knight of the Burning Pestle.

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