The Mollusc
by Hubert Henry Davies
by Hubert Henry Davies
The Mollusc is a comedic examination of a woman's manipulative control over her household and the resulting sexual hypocrisy and jealousy that unfolds when her brother attempts to liberate them.
About The Play
About The Play
Paired with the Finborough Theatre’s revival of T.W.Robertson’s Ours, The Mollusc is a classic comedy of social and sexual manners. This production marks the centenary of the 1907 premiere and is the first time the play has been seen in London for over 50 years.
The Mollusc is the story of a woman who will do anything to do nothing. With mesmerising skill, Mrs Dulcie Baxter enslaves the members of her household – her husband, her children, and their attractive governess, Miss Roberts. When her brother Tom arrives from Colorado, he tries to break the cycle of entrapment which binds everyone to his sister’s will, but he uncovers a world of sexual hypocrisy and jealousy which nobody expected to find…
On one level a delightfully frothy comedy, and on another a subversive and vicious assault on the double standards of the English middle classes, The Mollusc is a classic of Edwardian theatre with all the polish and sophistication of an Oscar Wilde comedy combined with the urgent passion expected of the drama of Harvey Granville Barker or Bernard Shaw.