SCAPINO – A Long Way from Molière
Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale 

A boisterous comedy set in a small Italian village, Scapino is the story of wily servants who outsmart their masters; young lovers kept apart by their parents; misers who would do anything to keep hold of their money; gypsies; chase scenes; and, of course…a happy ending!  

Two young men, LEANDRO and OTTAVIO have fallen in love. In fact, Ottavio has married GIACINTA without his father’s knowledge or permission and Leandro has fallen for a gypsy girl, ZERBINETTA. Their wealthy fathers, ARGANTE and GERONTE have returned from business with plans for Argante’s son, Leandro to marry Geronte’s daughter.

The two young men are in a desperate situation and implore SCAPINO, Leandro’s guardian, to come up with a scheme to persuade their miserly fathers to allow them to marry the girls of their dreams. Scapino is ably assisted by his counterpart, SYLVESTRO, Ottavio’s guardian, and CARLO, the local bum.

The plot unravels with many twists and turns, with Scapino in control of everyone, including the audience! Eventually, Scapino manages to change the fathers’ minds, exhort outrageous sums of money from both men and exact his revenge on Geronte for having maligned him…

The play is set in Naples, at a dockside café presided over by a HEAD WAITER, two WAITERS and a sassy, sexy WAITRESS. They never speak but have a number of comic routines.

Everything comes to a happy conclusion, with the young lovers at last united and with reconciliation achieved between fathers and sons and between Scapino and the miserly old men.

SCAPINO! is a roller-coaster ride of a production that requires big, confident performances from the entire cast, lots of physical comedy and a rapport with the audience. There’s also some dancing and singing thrown in along with the spaghetti and the giant sausage that are pivotal to the slapstick! It's great entertainment for the whole family!

Frank Dunlop's Scapino was first produced by The Young Vic on the London Stage in 1974. It has gone on to become a favourite for many American High School productions, and as far as we know, this is the first time Scapino has been performed in South Africa!