A Servant to Two Masters

Drawing on the Italian tradition of commedia dell’arte, Goldoni’s quick-witted and deft masterpiece of 1745 is structured around complications, improvisations, miscommunications, mistaken identities and outright deceptions.

The play revolves around the wily, greedy servant Truffaldino who, in trying to fill both his purse and his stomach, attempts to serve two masters simultaneously.

Lee Hall’s contemporary yet faithful version is fast-paced, funny and idiomatic. Updating the comedy for the reader and audience, this version is thoroughly accessible, whilst also portraying the plot’s tricks and absurdities with comic flair. It was first performed at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, in December 1999 in a co-production between the Young Vic Theatre Company and the RSC.