Habeus Corpus

Habeas Corpus is a fast-paced play from 1973.

A satirical farce by the acclaimed British playwright Alan Bennett. Set in the early 1970s in the seaside town of Brighton, the play is a "black comedy" that centres on the mid-life crises of the Wicksteed family and their various sexual obsessions.

The Title - Latin for "you shall have the body" - is a pun on the legal writ and the characters' frantic pursuit of physical gratification.

The play follows the various inhabitants and visitors of the Wicksteed household over the course of a single, chaotic day.

Dr. Arthur Wicksteed is a cynical GP who has lost interest in his wife, Muriel, and spends his time chasing a young, attractive patient named Felicity Rumpers.

Meanwhile, Muriel is equally starved for affection and finds herself pursued by an old flame, Sir Percy Shorter, who is now a high-ranking (and very short) medical official.

As is tradition in farce, the second act is a whirlwind of mistaken identities, dropped trousers, and slamming doors.

A traveling salesman (who Connie believes is there to fit her breast prosthesis) is mistaken for a high-society suitor. Secrets are revealed, and the characters are forced to confront the aging, decaying reality of the "bodies" they are so obsessed with.

The show was performed by the Little Theatre, Donnington, Shropshire
from 21st to 23rd September 2023

Photos courtesy of Lucy Stevens (Photography), Vicki Stevens and Society members.