The Mandrake

Machiavelli’s comedy follows twenty-four hours in the passionate adventures of the gentlemanly Callimarco in his pursuit of the most exquisite young woman in Florence.

While it is both fast and very funny, it is very much the work of Machiavelli, the political theorist whose themes of moral pragmatism earned notoriety following the publication of his most well-known work The Prince. Wallace Shawn’s translation is a vibrant and direct treatment of a play that offers a piece of seriously funny entertainment, and is guaranteed to cause a little discomfort to any who think of personal morals as a simple business.