2015 JEWELL MAINSTAGE PLAY GUIDE

2015 JEWELL MAINSTAGE
PLAY GUIDE
WELCOME
It’s springtime in Seattle and I am so excited that you are joining us for Jeeves Intervenes!
This delicious comedy, based on P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and the Hardboiled Egg finds Bertie and
Eustace creating more trouble for themselves. Add in Aunt Agatha and Uncle Rupert’s ideas of marriage, and it only exacerbates the problem. Luckily for our young lads, Jeeves is always there for the
rescue.
“You can lead a horse to the altar, Jeeves, but you cannot make it wed!”
In preparation to see the show, I hope you will take some time to peruse the materials in this play
guide. Learn about Wodehouse, Margaret Raether, the costumes, the set and time period, the clever
servant and Wodehouse’s penchant for words, new and old.
Isaiah Custer
Marketing Associate
P.S. We would love to hear from you! Tag us on any of the social media platforms listed below.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JEWELL MAINSTAGE
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ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES
212 N 85th St
Seattle, WA 98103
THE AUTHOR & PLAYWRIGHT
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P.G. Wodehouse
Margaret Raether
THE PLAY
206.781.9707 Box Office
206.781.9708 Group Sales
206.781.9705 Administrative Office
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WWW.TAPROOTTHEATRE.ORG
CULTURAL CONTEXT
A Play Guide published by
Taproot Theatre Company
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RESEARCHER: Sonja Lowe
EDITOR: Isaiah Custer
PRODUCTION PHOTOS: John Ulman
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Tracking the Clever
Tracking the Clever
Tracking the Clever
Shakespeare
Tracking the Clever
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Tracking the Clever Servant: Now
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Play Guides are produced by the Marketing Department at
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Inquiries about reproducing materials may be directed to the
member of the Marketing Department listed as the editor for
that Play Guide.
This play guide may be updated periodically with
new information. Last update 5.6.2015
Synopsis
Characters/Costumes
Setting/Place
Servant: Plautus
Servant: Moliere
Servant:
Servant:
Jeeves Intervenes
THE WONDROUS WORLD OF WODEHOUSE
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Wodehouse’s Words
QUESTIONS
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Post-Show Reflection Questions
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY
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About Us
What’s Next
THE AUTHOR
SIR PELHAM GRENVILLE WODEHOUSE
October 15, 1881 — February 14, 1975
(Pronounced Wood-house)
“Wodehouse was an English humourist whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays,
humorous verses, poems, song lyrics, and magazine articles. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years, and his many writings continue to be
widely read. A quintessential Englishman, born during the Victorian era and spending his twenties
in Edwardian London, he also resided in France and the United States for extended periods during
his long life. His writing reflects this rich background, with stories set in England, France, and the
United States, particularly, New York City and Hollywood.
An acknowledged master of English prose, Wodehouse has been admired both by contemporaries such as Hilaire Belloc, Evelyn Waugh and Rudyard Kipling and by recent writers such
as Christopher Hitchens, Stephen Fry, Douglas Adams, J. K. Rowling, and John Le Carré.
Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.
Perhaps best known today for the Jeeves and Blandings Castle novels and short stories, Wodehouse was also a playwright and
lyricist who was part author and writer of 15 plays and of 250 lyrics for some 30 musical comedies, many of them produced in
collaboration with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton. He worked with Cole Porter on the musical Anything Goes (1934), wrote the lyrics
for the hit song "Bill" in Kern's Show Boat (1927), wrote lyrics to Sigmund Romberg's music for the GershwinRomberg musical Rosalie (1928) and collaborated with Rudolf Friml on a musical version of The Three Musketeers (1928). He is in
the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Wodehouse spent the last decades of his life in the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1955, after a controversy
arose relating to five radio broadcasts he made from Germany during World War II. He had been imprisoned by the Germans in a
civil internment camp for a year, and speculation regarding his motives led to allegations that the broadcasts were the result
of collaboration and treason. Some libraries banned his books. An MI5 investigation cleared him of any such crimes, but he never
returned to England…
Wodehouse continued to write novels and to follow an exercise regime into his nineties. In 1975 he was appointed a Knight
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the New Year Honours. Toward the end of January 1975, he developed pemphigus, a persistent skin rash, brought on by the strain of extra work, answering fan mail and recording the introductions to the Wodehouse Playhouse TV series. In early February, he entered Southampton Hospital, where he died of a heart attack
on February 14, 1975 at age 93. His last novel, Sunset at Blandings, was unfinished at his death and was published posthumously
in 1977.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._G._Wodehouse
Who are some of your favorite authors?
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
What are some of your favorite movies adapted from
books?
PAGE 4
THE PLAYWRIGHT
MARGARET RAETHER
“Margaret Raether first encountered P.G. Wodehouse in the form of a battered secondhand
paperback of The Code of the Woosters when she was in college. This, as Bogart once famously observed, was "the beginning of a beautiful friendship." A founding member of Artists'
Ensemble Theatre, most of Ms. Raether's plays have debuted either at AE or at New American
Theater, where she spent two seasons as Playwright in Residence.”
www.playscripts.com/playwrights/bios/1274
Plays by Margaret Raether:
Jeeves in Bloom
Jeeves Intervenes
Jeeves Takes a Bow
“It was just a chance conversation,” says playwright Margaret Raether about the idea of
writing a play about Bertie and Jeeves. “I was chatting with another Wodehouse fan and I suddenly wondered if any of the Jeeves stories were in public domain.”
The end result of that thought was AE’s world premiere of Jeeves Intervenes, followed three years later by Jeeves in Bloom and,
three years later, Jeeves Takes a Bow. The earlier plays have gone on to productions in Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and
Lincoln, Nebraska.
“I’m thrilled that some people are being introduced to Wodehouse for the first time, while lifelong Wodehouse fans seem to enjoy the plays as well.”
“Generally, I write late at night in my bathrobe, peering around a cat that likes to sit in front of the monitor,” confesses Margaret. “The biggest challenge is the character of Jeeves. It is tricky writing for a character who is never flustered, never at a loss,
who fears nothing and always knows precisely what to do.”
“Jeeves does have, I believe, a certain inner amusement as Bertie’s dilemmas entertain him. And he takes justifiable pride in being the premier puppet master. I always
strive to make Jeeves the eye of the hurricane as those swirling about him are maneuvered (or outmaneuvered, as the case may be).”
Which book series would you want adapted into a play or
movie?
Marianna de Fazio as Madeline Basset and Kim
Morris as Dahlia Travers in Taproot Theatre
Company’s production of Jeeves in Bloom.
Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
the Jeeves Trilogy from ArtistsEnsemble.org
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 5
THE PLAY
SYNOPSIS
Bertie Wooster is a wealthy, goodnatured young man living in London in the
late 1920’s. He’s not too bright, but that’s
alright because his faithful servant Jeeves
is a genius who can always be depended
on to pull his master out of scrapes.
The one thing that Jeeves can’t do, however, is get rid of Bertie Wooster’s terrifying aunt, Mrs. Agatha Spencer Gregson. Aunt Agatha doesn’t approve of Bertie and is determined to get him married to
a good woman who will “make something
of him.”
At the beginning of our play Bertie has
been summoned to visit Aunt Agatha at
her country home. Bertie suspects that
Aunt Agatha has also invited the Honourable Gertrude Winklesworth-Bode, a
wealthy heiress and a very serious girl who
reads German philosophy and loves
“improving” people. Bertie doesn’t want to
be improved and can’t stand the idea of
marriage to Gertrude, but he also finds it
hard to say no to Aunt Agatha.
While Jeeves and Bertie are discusses
ways to thwart Aunt Agatha’s matchmaking plans, Eustace BassingtonBassington arrives to visit Bertie and ask
for help. Eustace and Bertie went to school
together and have been friends for a long
time. Eustace is in trouble because his uncle, Sir Rupert Watlington-Pipps is
coming to visit him in London. Eustace has
been lying to his uncle—telling him that he
is a successful business man living in a
nice flat in London.
David Roby and Chris Ensweiler. Photo by John Ulman.
Jeeves, Bertie and Eustace concoct a plan. Eustace will stay at Bertie’s flat while
Bertie is away visiting Aunt Agatha. Then, Sir Rupert will think that Eustace is rich
and Eustace won’t have to go to India. But their best laid plans get extremely complicated when Aunt Agatha decides to come to London herself (bringing Gertrude
with her). Then Sir Rupert arrives a day earlier than expected and all of them show
up at Bertie’s flat for dinner.
Bertie’s flat is becoming very crowded, everybody is getting angry at everybody
else and nobody is sitting down to eat their soup. Sir Rupert thinks that Eustace
owns the flat and doesn’t like Eustace’s odd friend, Bertie. Aunt Agatha thinks that
Bertie owns the flat and can’t understand why he’s also invited his odd friend and his
odd friend’s uncle. And to make matters even more complicated Gertrude thinks that
Bertie is in love with her and Eustace is falling in love with Gertrude!
Now Sir Rupert is coming to visit and
when he finds out that Eustace has no
business and no money he will send Eustace off to India to learn the jute business
and “improve himself.” Eustace doesn’t like
the jute business, doesn’t want to go to
India and doesn’t really want to be improved.
Will Sir Rupert learn the truth and send Eustace to India?
Will Bertie avoid Aunt Agatha’s match making schemes?
Will Eustace and Gertrude fall in love?
Will the soup course ever get served?
Yes! But only Jeeves can make it happen.
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 6
THE PLAY
CHARACTERS/COSTUMES
One of the key characteristics of P.G. Wodehouse’s writing is his talent for describing characters and most of these
descriptions come from Bertie’s point of view. Below are Bertie’s descriptions for some of the characters in Jeeves
Intervenes. After reading these, try writing your own character descriptions for this play. How would you describe
the characters below and on the next page?
Bertie Wooster: A young man about town
Jeeves: Bertie’s manservant
Agatha Spencer Gregson: Bertie’s aunt
Aunt Agatha
“You’ve never met my
Aunt Agatha, so it’s
rather hard to explain.
But she’s a sort of human vampire-bat….
She’s the kind of
woman who comes and
rags you before breakfast, don’t you know.”
Gertrude Winklesworth-Bode: A wealthy heiress and a very serious girl
Eustace Bassington Bassington: Bertie’s friend
Sir Rupert Watlington-Pipps: Eustace’s uncle
Gertrude
“The thing is, Gertie is
the sort of girl who expects a fellow to carve
out a career and what
not. I know for fact
that I’ve heard her
speak favourably of
Napoleon.”
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
Eustace
“The thing one has to
understand about
Bassy is that, although
a perfectly decent
chap, he has only just
enough intelligence to
open his mouth when
he wants to eat.”
PAGE 7
THE PLAY
CHARACTERS/COSTUMES
Authors of novels or short stories will often include character descriptions as part of the story. In a play, the costume designer is
responsible for creating the first impression of a character. As soon as an actor walks out on stage you can guess something
about their character. Are they old or young? Are they rich or poor? Are they from another time period or dressed in modern
clothes?
Jeeves
“Now, touching this business
of old Jeeves — my man, you
know ... The man’s a genius.
From the collar upward he
stands alone. I gave up trying
to run my own affairs within a
week of his coming to me…
Right from the first day he
came to me, I have looked on
him as a sort of guide, philosopher, and friend. He is a
bird of the ripest intellect, full
of bright ideas.”
Bertie
“I’m a quiet, peaceful sort
of bloke who has lived all
his life in London, and I
can’t stand the pace these
swift sportsmen from the
rural districts set. What I
mean to say is, I’m all for
rational enjoyment and so
forth, but I think a fellow
makes himself conspicuous
when he throws soft-boiled
eggs at the electric fan.”
Uncle Rupert
Bertie doesn’t describe
Uncle Rupert. What do you
think Bertie would say?
Visit our Pinterest Page
to see inspirations for
these costume designs.
@Taproot Theatre Company
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 8
THE PLAY
SETTING/PLACE
BRIGHT LIGHTS AND BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS
As the Jazz Age advanced to full swing in 1920’s London, a group of young and wealthy socialites set in motion an era of irresponsibility and gilded fun. Known as the “Bright Young People”, this set was a mixed bag of aristocrats, middle class adventurers and bohemian artists who partied hard, lived for excitement, and furnished the press with a steady stream of scandal for the
gossip columns. The Bright Young People essentially invented London’s first “celebrity” youth culture. These are the kind of people that Bertie hangs out with. Below is a brief description of the 1920’s London that Bertie and the Bright Young People would
have known:
London—1920’s
“The lifting of war time restrictions in the early 1920s created new sorts of night-life in the West End. Entrepreneurs opened
clubs, restaurants and dance halls to cater for the new crazes: jazz and dancing. The capital began to feel less traditional and
more modern. 'Wireless' radio was the technological marvel of the decade.
As London lightened up at its centre, so it began to spread at its edges. Electric railways opened up new suburbs for commuting.
Local councils and private house builders both redoubled their efforts to build new estates on green-field sites in outer London.
Those Londoners who could afford it moved out of the unhealthy inner city.
London's docks resumed their role as the engine of London's wealth. The volume of imports and exports rose with the opening
of the King George V docks complex in 1921. In central London new office jobs were created by a new generation of British corporations and banks: ICI and British Petroleum both built large head offices in central London .
Firms continued to move out of inner city, particularly to West London. More factories were built at Park Royal and along the
new arterial roads. The Firestone Tyre factory on the Great West Road, the Wrigley factory at Wembley and Lyons food processing works at Hammersmith were typical of the new generation of London's light industry They had smart modern buildings and
used modern, electrically-powered automated machinery.”
http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/timeline/1920-1929
London Events
 1922 first radio broadcast of the British Broadcasting Company (later, the British Broadcasting Corporation) from premises in the
Strand
 1924-5 British Empire
Exhibition at Wembley
 1926 The General Strike
lasts for 10 days in May
 1928 The Thames
floods central London
 1928 London's first
automatic telephone exchange opens at Holborn
“London Theobalds Road” by Ben Brooksbank. A section of apartment buildings being rebuilt
after World War I.
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 9
THE PLAY
SETTING/PLACE
In a novel or a short story the setting is usually established by the author’s description indicating time and place. At most theatrical productions the program will briefly list the setting and time period of the play, but after that it’s up to the set designer to
create a visual representation of the location that the story is set. A good set designer will create a set that gives the audience
clues about the story even before the actors come on stage.
Visit our Pinterest Page
to see inspirations for
this set design.
What can you guess about the setting (location and/or time period) of
this play by looking at the set design above?
@Taproot Theatre Company
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 10
CULTURAL CONTEXT
TRACKING THE CLEVER SERVANT
When Wodehouse created his Jeeves and Wooster characters in the 1930’s he was drawing on a long
established comedic tradition. The motif of the “clever servant” is one of the longest running jokes in history!
To trace it through history we have to go all the way back to the Romans.
Titus Maccius Plautus
254 BC - 184 BC
Born in Sassina, Umbria
“Plautus was a comic playwright in the time of the Roman Republic. The years of his life are uncertain, but his plays were first produced roughly between 205 BC and 184 BC. Twenty-one plays survive.
Plautus' comedies, which are among the earliest surviving intact works in Latin literature, are mostly
adaptations of Greek models for a Roman audience.
His most typical character is the clever slave who manipulates his master, reversing the
master-slave dynamic expected of such relationships in the Roman world.”
http://www.crystalinks.com/plautus.html
FOUND ONE! The clever servant in Plautus’ Pseudolus:
“The Roman playwright Plautus addresses the issues of
class consciousness and status in his works. This is clear
throughout his play, Pseudolus. Pseudolus is the main character of the play, and, as a slave, represents a low social
status in Roman society. He is cunning and is against authority, even his own master. For all that he is a trickster,
Pseudolus does not manipulate the upper classes for his
own advancement. He does it to help others, although often twisting his plans to benefit himself at the same time.
Plautus uses Pseudolus as a means of creating a comic hero
whose worth is not based on his status and class in society.
Plautus was attempting to show his audience that human
worth is not based merely on wealth and social position.
Pseudolus is not of a powerful status, but his intelligence
and kindness to those he loves makes him a great and essentially good character.”
http://www.cornellcollege.edu/classical_studies/comedy/pseudolus.htm
For Example
Calidorus is the son of Pseudolus' master, and he is a lovesick
and naïve young man. Calidorus represents the higher class,
which should put him in a position of power, but he defers his
problems to Pseudolus, becoming dependent on the slave. He
even lets Pseudolus boss him around:
CALIDORUS: I'm tortured!
PSEUDOLUS: Toughen up!
CALIDORUS: I can't.
PSEUDOLUS: Well, force yourself!
CALIDORUS: How can I?
PSEUDOLUS: Try to control your emotions, man! /
Concentrate on constructive thoughts; / When things go
wrong, don't pander to passion . . .
CALIDORUS: Pseudolus, let me be silly. Please!
PSEUDOLUS: I'll let you, if you let me leave.
CALIDORUS: Wait! Wait! I'll be just the way you want me.
THINK ABOUT IT:
Read Act I, Scene I of Pseudolus by Plautus. How is the relationship between Pseudolus and Calidorus similar to
that between Jeeves and Bertie Wooster? How is it different?
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 11
CULTURAL CONTEXT
TRACKING THE CLEVER SERVANT
The French playwright Molière
1622 - 1673
Born in Paris, France
“Moliere whose real name was Jean Baptiste Poquelin, composed 12 of the most
durable and penetratingly satirical full-length comedies of all time, some in rhyming
verse, some in prose, as well as six shorter farces and comedies.
Moliere was also the leading French comic actor, stage director, and dramatic theoretician of the 17th century. In a theatrical period (the early baroque) dominated by the formal neoclassical tragedies, Molière affirmed the potency of comedy as a serious, flexible
art form.
The strongest influence on Molière's theater came from the Italian commedia dell'arte
troupes -- with their stock characters and situations -- that he encountered during his
travels as a young man. The zanni (comic servants) are among the many stock characters from the commedia dell’arte tradition that often appear in Moliere’s plots. Zannis are
usually clever servants who are often called upon to help get their masters/mistresses
out of trouble.”
http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Moliere/moliere.shtml
FOUND ONE! The clever servant in Moliere’s Tartuffe:
In Moliere’s Tartuffe, the master of the house, Orgon, is being hoaxed by a clever con-man who poses as a religious teacher.
Orgon plans to force his daughter, Mariane to marry Tartuffe. Dorine, the servant girl, speaks up for Mariane and tries to give
her mistress the courage to resist Orgon.
DORINE: Well, have you lost your tongue, girl? Must I play your part and say the lines you ought to say? Faced with a
fate so hideous and absurd, can you not utter one dissenting word?
MARIANE: What good would it do? A father’s power is great.
DORINE: Resist him now, or it will be too late.
MARIANE: But…
DORINE: Tell him one cannot love at a father’s whim; that you shall marry for yourself, not him; That since it’s you who
are to be the bride, it’s you, not he, who must be satisfied; And that if his Tartuffe is so sublime, he’s free to marry
him at any time.
MARIANE: I’ve bowed so long to Father’s strict control, I couldn’t oppose him now, to save my soul.
DORINE: Come, come, Mariane. Do listen to reason, won’t you?
THINK ABOUT IT:
Read Act 1, Scenes 2 and 3 of Moliere’s Tartuffe. How is the help that Dorine offers Mariane different from the
advice that Pseudolus offers his master? How are the two scenes similar?
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 12
CULTURAL CONTEXT
TRACKING THE CLEVER SERVANT
William Shakespeare
1564-1616
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England
`The Bard of Avon', was an English poet and playwright who wrote the famous 154 Sonnets and
numerous highly successful oft quoted dramatic works including the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet. While Shakespeare caused much controversy, he also earned lavish praise and has
profoundly impacted the world in areas of literature, culture, art, theatre, and film and is considered
one of the best English language writers ever. A common character that often appears in Shakespeare’s script is the “wise fool.”
http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare
FOUND ONE! The clever servant in Shakespeare’s King Lear:
Shakespeare’s “wise fools” differ slightly from the clever
servants in Moliere and Plautus. Rather than using their
cleverness to come up with tricks and strategies that solve
their master’s problems, Shakespearian fools more often
use their wits to tell their masters when they are making
foolish decisions. Like the traditional clever servants, fools
are not in awe of prestige and power. They have the courage to speak the truth to powerful people.
FUN FACT: Similar to Wodehouse, Shakespeare created
many words that appear in common vernacular today:
Advertising, bedroom, birthplace, champion, critic,
discontent, dwindle, elbow, eyeball, fixture, gnarled,
gossip, hobnob, impede, jaded, lonely, majestic, ode,
puking, scuffle, skim milk, swagger, unreal, zany.
For Example
When King Lear gives up his crown and divides his
lands between his two daughters, the king’s Fool has
no hesitation in criticizing his master’s plan.
FOOL: Dost thou know the difference, my boy,
between a bitter fool and a sweet fool?
KING LEAR: No, lad; teach me.
FOOL: That lord that counsell'd thee
To give away thy land,
Come place him here by me,
Do thou for him stand:
The sweet and bitter fool
Will presently appear;
The one in motley here,
The other found out there.
KING LEAR: Dost thou call me fool, boy?
FOOL: All thy other titles thou hast given away;
that thou wast born with.
THINK ABOUT IT:
Read Act 1 of King Lear (particularly Scene III). Who is the wiser character, King Lear or the Fool? Why do you
think King Lear tolerates criticism from his Fool when he won’t tolerate it from anyone else?
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 13
CULTURAL CONTEXT
TRACKING THE CLEVER SERVANT
The Clever Servant in Jeeves Intervenes
Now that we’ve followed the clever servant motif through some historical plays, let’s look at one of the best clever servants:
Jeeves in our play Jeeves Intervenes. In the scene below Jeeves must unscramble the tangled love lives of Bertie and Eustace.
Gertrude has announced that she’s engaged to Bertie. Eustace is in love with Gertrude. Bertie is definitely NOT in love with
Gertrude. How can they get Gertrude to fall in love with Eustace?
For Example:
JEEVES: Once Sir Rupert is out of the way, it will be your
task, gentlemen, to persuade Miss Winklesworth-Bode to
end her engagement to Mr. Wooster.
BERTIE: Yes!
EUSTACE: Absolutely!
BERTIE: How exactly are we going to do that again?
JEEVES: By presenting Miss Winklesworth-Bode with an irresistible alternate.
(He points at Eustace.)
BERTIE: What, Bassy—irresistible? How in the name of all
that’s holy are we going to pull that off?
JEEVES: Miss Winklesworth-Bode is a young lady who reveres
intellect.
BERTIE: Jeeves, have you met Bassy?
EUSTACE: (in protest) I say!
JEEVES: Some small deception may be required. If Mr.
Bassington-Bassington could express an interest in, say,
German philosophy…
BERTIE: Jeeves, that is a perfectly splendid and by no means
unripe idea!
JEEVES: Very kind, sir.
BERTIE: Sheer genius!
EUSTACE: What is?
BERTIE: Bassy, all you have to do is bone up on—JEEVES,
who’s that chappie with the peculiar name that Gertie is
always raving about?
JEEVES: Nietzsche, sir.
BERTIE: The very bloke!
EUSTACE: Who?
BERTIE: Some sort of German philanthropist.
JEEVES: Philosopher, sir.
BERTIE: Yes, yes. Bassy, look. All you have to do is pass
yourself off as a student of German whatever and Gertie
will go absolutely dippy over you!
EUSTACE: She will? That would be ecstasy! O, Gertrude!—in
passing, don’t you think Gertrude is a musical name?
BERTIE: No.
EUSTACE: No?
BERTIE: No.
EUSTACE: You don’t think it sounds rather like the wind rustling through the treetops?
BERTIE: No.
EUSTACE: Bertie, you are a fathead worm without any soul.
BERTIE: Do shut up, Bassy. Now, there’s a book around here
somewhere—(Jeeves produces the book.) Ah, thank you,
Jeeves.
EUSTACE: Types of Ethical Theory—Oh, Bertie, I don’t know…
BERTIE: You needn’t commit the thing to memory for
heaven’s sake.
JEEVES: If you could just glance over one or two high points.
BERTIE: Then, tonight when you’re chatting up Gertie just,
you know, casually toss out the old phrase or two at appropriate moments.
EUSTACE: Do you really think I can pull this off?
BERTIE: It is a guaranteed certainty! Tell him, Jeeves!
JEEVES: We shall simply have to rely on Mr. BassingtonBassington’s cool head and thespian skills.
THINK ABOUT IT:
Compare the character of Jeeves to that of Pseudolus, Dorine or the Fool. How is Jeeves similar to these other
servants? How is his relationship with his master different from theirs? Notice that in three out of the four of
the plays that we’ve looked at so far the problems are about love and marriage. Why do you think that is?
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 14
CULTURAL CONTEXT
TRACKING
THE CLEVER
CLEVER SERVANT
TRACKING
THE
SERVANT
The Modern “Clever Servant”
The master/servant relationship is less common
in American culture. This means that American
comedians and writers have found different
ways to interpret the “clever servant.” In our
modern comedy we often find “underdog” characters who aren’t supposed to be in charge but
who are actually smarter than the people
around them. For example, kids who are
smarter than their parents, pets who are
smarter than humans or employees who are
smarter than their bosses.
Think About It
How are the characters below similar to the “clever servants” that we’ve
been reading about in Plautus, Moliere, Shakespeare and Wodehouse. How
has the comedy changed over time? Can you think of other examples of
books, comics, television shows, or movies that use versions of the “clever
servant” comedy motif?
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 15
THE WONDROUS WORLD OF WODEHOUSE
WODEHOUSE’S WORDS
P.G. Wodehouse loved to play with
words, slang and abbreviations; and
his characters (especially the younger
set) were always on the cutting edge
of slang and improvisational language. Many times his characters
were the first or at least among the
first to use these words and phrases,
most likely rendering them ridiculous
and incomprehensible to any older
people. Here are some examples of
1920's words and slang that you may
encounter in P.G. Wodehouse’s
stories. Do your best to match the
words with their definitions!
1. __________: trans. To harass, to
bedevil; to snub. (Only in P. G. Wodehouse.)
1923 P.G. Wodehouse Inimitable
Jeeves iii. 30 “My Aunt
Agatha..wouldn’t be on hand to _____
me for at least another six weeks.”
2. __________: A dollar. "Can you spot
me a few _____?" Other slang for money:
cabbage, kale.
3. __________: A form, freq. in modern times, of cup o’. Also used as an abreviation for ‘cup o’ tea’.
1925 P.G. Wodehouse Sam the Sudden vi. 42 “Come and have a _____
coffee.”
4. __________: Intoxicated, drunk.
1927 P.G. Wodehouse Meet Mr. Mulliner vi. 191 “Intoxicated? The word did
not express it by a mile. He was oiled,
boiled, fried..______, sozzled, and
blotto.”
5. ___________: Nonsense. (Related:
baloney = piffle).
6. __________: Money, lettuce.
Word Bank
Bounder
Dewdropper
Jake
Oojah-cum-spiff
Right ho
Soup job
Voot
Zing
Clam
Egg
Noodle juice
Phonus balonus
Ritzy
Tell it to Sweeney
Wet blanket
Corker
Fire extinguisher
Know one’s onions
Plonk
Shimmy
Unscramble
Whiffled
Cuppa
Gruntled
Ossified
Pottines
Snooter
Upchuck
You slay me
Answers are on page 17.
7. __________: Man. "He's a funny
_____."
8. __________: A dull thudding sound,
as of one solid object hitting another;
(also) an abrupt, hollow, resonant noise,
esp. as that emitted from a musical instrument (cf. plink). Also as int. (Also reduplicated.)
1903 P.G. Wodehouse Tales of St.
Austin’s 9 “There was a beautiful, mu-
sical ____, and the ball soared to the
very opposite quarter of the field.”
9. __________: Okey dokey. "Everything
is _______."
10. __________: To put into or restore
to order; to disentangle; to make sense of
(something) confused;
1923 P.G. Wodehouse Inimitable
Jeeves x. 104 “I collapsed on to the
settee and rather lost interest in things
for the moment. When I had _______
myself I found that Jeeves and the
child had retired.”
11. __________: Drunk, probably from
having been on a toot, or a drinking
binge. Also: splifficated, fried, blotto.
12. __________: A chaperone (aka, a
killjoy, an alarm clock).
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
13. __________: intr. In the work of
P.G. Wodehouse: to express agreement
by saying ‘______!’; to acquiesce.
1936 P.G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas
iv. 41 “I had met her when she was
taking a holiday at Cannes. We became chummy. I asked her to marry
me. She _______. So far, so good.”
14. __________: A young, unemployed guy who sleeps all day. Alternate
synonym: A lollygagger.
15. __________: The state or condition of being potty; silliness, madness,
craziness.
1933 P.G. Wodehouse Heavy Weather
iii. 47 “It was not primarily his ____
that led him to steal the Empress.”
16. __________: To know one's beeswax; to know what someone's talking
about.
17. __________: Pleased, satisfied,
contented.
1938 P.G. Wodehouse Code of
Woosters i. 9 “He spoke with a certain
what-is-it in his voice, and I could see
that, if not actually disgruntled, he
was far from being _____.”
PAGE 16
THE WONDROUS WORLD OF WODEHOUSE
WODEHOUSE’S WORDS
1920 P.G. Wodehouse Jill the
Reckless xvi. 296 “The Duchess,
abandoning that aristocratic manner criticized by some of her colleagues as ‘up-stage’ and by others as ‘___’, [etc.].”
19. ___________: Go say that to
someone who'll believe your phonus
balonus.
20. __________: A person of objectionable manners or anti-social
behavior; a cad.
1919 P.G. Wodehouse Damsel in
Distress vi. 70 “He had been
marched up the Haymarket in the
full sight of all London by a
_______ of a policeman.”
21. __________: Tea. (But noodle
on its own means head.)
22. __________: To crack a safe
using nitroglycerine. (Safecrackers
were yeggs.)
23. __________: Representing the
sudden advent of a new situation or
emotion.
1919 P.G. Wodehouse Damsel in
Distress vi. 75 “The generous
blood of the Belphers boiled over,
and then—____. They jerked him
off to Vine Street.”
24. __________: Vomit, probably
after too much foot juice or giggle water. (Synonymous: to pull a Daniel
Boone is to vomit.)
25. __________: A person or thing
of surpassing size or excellence; a
stunner; also used ironically.
1936 P.G. Wodehouse Laughing
Gas ii. 25 “’I know what you mean,’
I said. ‘Nine times out of ten they're
absolute washouts, of course. But
this one was a ______.’”
26. __________: You're hilarious.
27. __________: Fine, all right.
1930 P.G. Wodehouse Very Good,
Jeeves i. 25 “’All you have to do,’ I
said, ‘is to carry on here for a few
weeks more, and everything will be
__________.’”
28. __________: intr. and trans. To
‘dance’ in; to transport (a person)
quickly.
1923 P.G. Wodehouse Inimitable
Jeeves vii. 76, “I bounded into the
sitting-room, but it was empty.
Jeeves _____ in.”
LET’S FIND OUT!
Have you ever used any of these slang
terms? Which ones? How?
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
What current phrases or slang do you use
now?
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
Ask an adult.
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
29. __________: Someone who is
no fun, no fun at all. Someone who
does not like whoopee (to have a good
time).
Words, definitions and quotes reprinted from:
 Cuppa and Other Words First Used by P.G. Wodehouse by Abhit
Nag
 How to Sound Like the Bee's Knees: A Dictionary of 1920s Slang
by Jen Doll
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
Wodehouse’s Words Answers:
1. Snooter 2. Clam 3. Cuppa 4. Whiffled
5. Phonus balonus 6. Voot 7. Egg 8.
Plonk 9. Jake 10. Unscramble 11. Ossified 12. Fire extinguisher 13. Right ho
14. Dewdropper 15. Pottiness 16. Know
one’s onions 17. Gruntled 18. Ritzy 19.
Tell it to Sweeney 20. Bounder 21.
Noddle juice 22. Soup job 23. Zing 24.
Upchuck 25. Corker 26. You slay me
27. Oojah-cum-spiff 28. Shimmy 29.
Wet blanket
18. __________: colloq. (orig.
U.S.) Of a person: haughty, snobbish. Now rare.
PAGE 17
QUESTIONS
POST-SHOW REFLECTION QUESTIONS
The Question: Tell a story about a time that you told a lie and got caught. If you
can’t remember a story you can make something up!
1. Aunt Agatha and Uncle Rupert are both determined to improve their nephews, but neither Bertie nor Eustace want to be improved. Which side are you on? Should Bertie and Eustace get married, get jobs and stop “wasting their life”? Or should Aunt
Agatha and Uncle Rupert mind their own business?
2. Aunt Agatha and Uncle Rupert both have a lot of (unwanted) advice for their nephews. Who are the people in your life (older
or younger) that you go to when you need advice? Are there people who give you advice when you don’t want it?
3. Eustace spends most of this play pretending to be someone different than who he is. Pretending to be rich for his uncle. Pretending to be smart for Gertrude. Have you ever tried to impress somebody else by pretending to be different? Did it work? Does
it work for Eustace?
4. One of the reasons that P.G. Wodehouse’s comic characters (Bertie and Jeeves) are so funny is that Jeeves is a servant who is
smarter than his master. Why do you think we find this situation funny? Can you think of other stories (classic or modern) that
have servants who are smarter than their masters, pets who are smarter than their owners, kids who are smarter than adults,
etc.?
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
PAGE 18
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY
MISSON STATEMENT
Taproot Theatre Company creates theatre experiences to brighten the spirit,
engage the mind and deepen the understanding of the world around us
while inspiring imagination, conversation and hope.
ABOUT US
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Taproot Theatre Company was founded in 1976 by
six friends, five of them graduates from Seattle
Pacific University. From its humble beginnings as a
touring group, the company is now Seattle’s largest
mid-size theatre company. Today Taproot Theatre
serves over 150,000 people annually throughout
the Pacific Northwest with its Jewell Mainstage
season, Isaac Studio Theatre season, Touring
programs and Acting Studio.
In-School Residencies & Workshops

From drama games to acting classes to putting
on a production, Taproot Theatre’s residencies
can range from several weeks to months, or an
entire school year. Whether during the school
day or after school as an enrichment program,
let Taproot’s trained teaching artists introduce a
whole new world to your students.

Our theatre arts professional will visit your classroom for a workshop that will inspire and excite
your students. They will develop basic acting
skills and explore non-theatre curriculum using
theater as a medium.
STAFF CONTACTS
In-School Residencies & Workshops
Nathan Jeffrey, Director of Education & Outreach
206.529.3669
Nathan@taproottheatre.org
Touring Productions
Shelby Parsons, Associate Director of Education
& Outreach
206.529.3668
Shelby@taproottheatre.org
Midweek Matinees
Isaiah Custer, Marketing Associate
206.529.3666
IsaiahC@taproottheatre.org
General
Box Office: 206.781.9707
Administrative Office: 206.781.9705
Fax: 206.297.6882
Taproot Theatre Company
P.O. Box 30946
Seattle, WA 98113
www.taproottheatre.org
TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY: PLAY GUIDE
Touring Productions


The Road Company – performing plays for
elementary and secondary schools focusing on
issues such as bullying prevention, substance
abuse, and friendship skills.
Family oriented productions and improv comedy
for churches, clubs, office parties and other
groups.
Camps & Classes

Taproot Theatre Company’s Acting Studio is a
year-round instructional program for theatre
artists of all ages and experience levels. We are
devoted to the wholeness of the artist with the
goal of creating a nurturing environment to help
each student develop his or her unique gifts.
PAGE 19
NEXT ON THE JEWELL MAINSTAGE:
GODSPELL
Fresh. Free. Fabulous. Summer
in Seattle. You may have heard
these songs before, but not like
this. Set against the backdrop of
the city’s public market our talented cast sings, dances and
plays their own instruments as
they tell a story of loyalty,
laughter and unconditional love.
Let down your hair and have a
good time—it’s summer in Seattle!
Tickets available at
www.taproottheatre.org or
206.781.9707.
For group pricing: 206.781.9708
or groups@taproottheatre.org.
Taproot’s brand new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula takes you on a chilling adventure following the
unlikely allies that join forces to defeat an ancient villain. Dare to enter the crypt as light invades darkness in
the ultimate battle between life and death.
Tickets for the Senior and Intergenerational Matinee’s are on sale! You don’t want to miss this gothic classic.
For single tickets: 206.781.9707 | For group tickets: 206.781.9708 or groups@taproottheatre.org