Gilbert is Dead

Synopsis

Lucius Trickett, owner of the most famous taxidermy museum in London, conspires with Queen Victoria and intrepid explorer Gilbert Shirley to disprove Darwin’s Theory of Evolution with a stuffed specimen of the elusive ghost Loris. But what is his beautiful wheelchair-bound daughter’s terrible secret, and what happens when the missing link goes missing?

Our Review:

Michael Coveney - 9 November 2009

In some ways, Robin French’s new play about an insane Victorian taxidermist who wishes to disprove Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution is one of the most interesting plays on the fringe; in others, it’s simply the most infuriating.

Let me explain: good subject, ingenious ideas, sloppy writing, bad direction and a startling design in one of the most magical rediscovered venues in London, a perfect galleried music hall in a buzzing neighbourhood, the Greenwich Village of East London.

But the unravelling is oh-so cumbersome: Ronan Vibert’s spiritually constipated, God-fearing taxidermist, Lucius Trickett, lives in his abandoned museum with a wheelchair-bound daughter Lucille (Kate Burdette) surrounded by an astonishing stage-full of beasts, birds and amphibians, tediously inventoried at the start of the play.

As William Chubb’s solicitous doctor Meriwether itemises the contents (why?) and Vibert sits silently, you wonder if Robert Wolstenholme’s production for the...

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Latest User Review

Joanna Black - 14 November 2009:

I saw this play last night with some friends and everyone really liked it. Fantastic acting, intriguing story and a wonderful venue. The taxidermist's museum was incredible - not sure how they got such huge specimens into that space, the rhinoceros head in particular. It was an amazing set. Afterwards we all went across the street to a great pub (serving great food) and chatted about the twists and turns of the story for ages. All in all a great night out! Highly recommended....

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