The Mystery of Irma Vep and other plays

Five exotic plays from the famous Ridiculous Theatre of New York, with a preface by Tony Kushner.

The late Charles Ludlam ransacked theatrical and literary history in an evolutionary quest for a modern art of stage comedy. His more than 30 plays – most famously those collected here – are among the funniest, most erudite and anarchic in the modern repertoire.

The Mystery of Irma Vep is a hilarious send-up of Jane Eyre, Daphne du Maurier and Victorian cross-dressing; Camille is a mix between laughfest and tearjerker as Ludlam tackles the role of the tubercular courtesan; Galas re-imagines the life of Maria Callas as high tragedy; Stage Blood contrives to give Hamlet a happy ending; Bluebeard follows a mad, Dr Moreau-esque vivisectionist in his hunt for the third sex.