About the Play:

The Clink has long been a favourite of acting teachers for Female Monologues, Male Monologues, and Male/Male Scenes.

The Clink is a full-length comedy by Stephen Jeffreys. Seventeenth century London. Elizabeth I is dying: intrigue and conspiracy abound. Into this brooding mix falls Lucius Bodkin, "alternative" comedian on the way up – he hopes. The Clink is a riotously funny satirical farce in the tradition of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Shakespeare in Love.

The Clink is about life in the last days of the reign of Elizabeth I with a power struggle developing to determine the succession. In the South London, home of the inotorious prison – The Clink – and its sordid neighbourhood, every shadow holds a conspirator. Lucius Bodkin, one half of traditional comedy duo the Bodkin Brothers, wants a brilliant career and, unlike his brother Thomas, is willing to take any risk to achieve it. But Elizabeth I is tottering at death's door and she refuses to name her successor. Conspirators are everywhere. The future looks wobbly. A visiting trade delegation from the Dutch Republic is on its way to London. Who will entertain them? Lucius thinks he'll hit the big time when he is chosen, but he becomes unwillingly involved in the political skullduggery and jiggery-pokery surrounding the ailing queen. The Clink could pass itself off as a long-lost Elizabethan comedy. In fact it is a brilliant political satire offering many sharp parallels with our own times, when art must be sponsored, but to be sponsored it must be 'safe'.

The Clink premiered in 1990 at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, England, ahead of a tour of Britain and Holland. The play has become a favourite scene study vehicle in acting classes and workshops and has mounted by regional and college theatres.

Cast: 4 female, 12 male (alternate casting: 4 female, 5 male with doubling)

What people say:

"A colourful and exciting theatrical experience… The Clink sparkles... electrifying." — The Guardian

About the Playwright:

John Stephen Gerrard Jeffreys (1950-2018) was an internationally acclaimed British playwright and playwriting teacher. He is probably best known for his play The Libertine, which he adapted for a 2004 film starring Johnny Depp. He was also a great teacher. During a decade as Literary Associate at the Royal Court Theatre in London, he championed Sarah Kane's era-defining debut play, Blasted, Mojo by Jez Butterworth and The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh. Works by Simon Stephens, Jonathan Harvey, Tanika Gupta, Joe Penhall and many others were also brought to life on his watch.