full-length play produced in 2003 at the Playwrights’ Center
based on the 1874 novel** by Jules Verne
The town of Quiquendone, where the action unfolds, is a most unusual place. People live together in harmony, no one is troubled by passion, and everything moves very, very slowly. The explanation? Oxygen-poor air.
Then one day a famous scientist comes to town. He has been hired to build a gasworks and install a modern street-lighting system, but really he’s increasing the oxygen level. And every time Dr. Ox turns the dial of his machine, life in Quiquendone gets a little crazier.
Dr. Ox’s Experiment is more than just a charming fantasy. It’s a comic parable in the vein of Candide and Gulliver’s Travels, a smart, funny, fast-paced show that raises some serious questions about science and human behavior. It was written for adults, but children over the age of 7 should enjoy it as well.
cast: 6M, 2F
** adapted as a 1998 opera by Gavin Bryars but never before, to the best of our knowledge, adapted as a play
