A review by catdad77a45
The Secret Theatre by Anders Lustgarten

4.0

The problem with historical plays like this one (although this is more an allegorical one, since Lustgarten apparently plays fast & loose with the facts and, according to his preface, was more interested in pointing out how the contemporary rise of surveillance owes a debt to the Elizabethans than to any historical truths) is that either one must provide too much exposition for those (like me) with only a rudimentary knowledge of those facts, or curtail such, so as not to bore the cognoscenti. Therefore, particularly n the first half, I had a struggle to keep everyone straight and figure out just what was going on. Albeit that deficiency, Lustgarten writes pungent dialogue, and there are quite a few laughs to be found amidst the intrigue. And I would bet this plays much better than it reads.