Histrionics is a new play written by James Butler who has been influenced by the innocent hero and unsuspected villain tradition of Commedia dell’arte. It is a comedy of treachery and murder set in London at the turn of the 18th Century. Wolfio Pigram is an unworldly young man with ambitions to be a playwright. He meets and becomes besotted by the attractive Furtive Grange, an apparently struggling young actress. A number of comic characters appear; Rolf an opportunistic journalist; Crimbo a former soldier; Vole a hen pecked husband and the Judge who is fond of a good hanging. Into this mix there is Nimbus, the ghost of Wolfio’s recently deceased mother. The play rattles along at speed. Some of the lines do get lost as a result particularly in the opening scene which I found confusing. The courtroom scene at the end is the highlight of the play when the comedy, drama and quality of acting reach their highest levels. ***