About the Play:

The Drunken Sisters is a one-act comedy by Thornton Wilder. The game played between the sisters of Fate and the Greek God Apollo escalates in comedic twists and turns that bring together themes of truth and deception, life and love, and where our loyalties lie. Recommended for scene study.

The Drunken Sisters tells the story of Apollo's journey into the land of the three sisters of Fate who control the threads of each man's life. Apollo in disguise tricks the sisters into releasing their death hold on King Admetus of Thessaly. His trick: 3 flagons of wine which he declares to be Aphrodite's beauty drink but which make the sisters drunk. He then foils them with a riddle, releasing the king from their snares – but only on the understanding that another is to die in his stead.

The Drunken Sisters is a short, comic satyr play written by Thornton Wilder as a companion piece to lighten the mood after a performance of The Alcestiad, his adaptation of the ancient Greek legend of Alcestis, who gave her life to save her husband Admetus.

Cast: 3 female, 1 male

About the Playwright:

Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) was an acclaimed American novelist and playwright whose works, exploring the connection between the commonplace and cosmic dimensions of human experience, continue to be read and produced around the world. He also enjoyed enormous success with many other forms of the written and spoken word, among them teaching, acting, the opera, and cinema. A three time Pulitzer Prize winner and the only winner for both fiction and drama, his many honours include the Gold Medal for Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Book Committee's Medal for Literature.