Year: 1968
Title of the play: Volpone
Author: Ben Jonson
Director: Tyrone Guthrie
Others in the Cast: Colin Blakely, Petronella Barker, Peter Penry-Jones, David Ryall, Gillian Barge, Paul Curran, Robert Lang, Gabrielle Laye, Frank Wylie, Michael Tudor Barnes, Benjamin Whitrow, Graham Crowden
Company/Event: National Theatre Company
Theatre and location: Old Vic, London
Other productions of the same play:
Plot summary: Volpone, a Venetian gentleman, is pretending to be on his deathbed after a long illness in order to dupe Voltore, Corbaccio and Corvino, who aspire to his fortune. They each arrive in turn, bearing extravagant gifts with the aim of being inscribed as Volpone's heir. Mosca, Volpone's assistant, encourages them, making each of them believe that he has been named in the will, and getting Corbaccio to disinherit his son in favour of Volpone.
Peth’s role: Voltore, the vulture, unrecognisable behind a beak.
Reviews:
Production details: Here
Related links: A Peth quote from Kathleen Riley's article: “I was sent off to the zoo in Regent’s Park to look at the vultures. And I thought, my God, this is just up my street on account of my interest in movement ... here I was, going to look at a real vulture, and to try to speak Ben Jonson as a vulture. Guthrie was in love with what I was doing physically and he used to say things like, ‘Fly up on to the bed,’ you know, with Volpone lying in it, ‘go on, fly on to it!’”
Gallery: Photos here:
