The Explorers Club
by Nell Benjamin

Name: The Explorers Club
Brand: Nell Benjamin
SKU: 9780822230090
Rating: 3.59 (173 reviews)

The Explorers Club Book Cover — The Explorers Club Cover

Highlights

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Large Cast

Female

Male

120 mins19th CenturyReduced Casting (Doubling Possible)Expandable CastingUnit Set/Multiple SettingsAmerican Historical Comedy

What readers are saying

Readers find The Explorers Club to be a highly entertaining satire that resonates with contemporary themes of discrimination and sexism. Many enjoy the dynamic humor and witty dialogue, appreciating its farcical elements and light-hearted tone. However, a few feel that the play's reliance on stereotypes and some aspects of its writing detract from the overall experience.

Hilarious and entertainingDynamic humor and punsEngaging satire on misogynySome humor feels too obviousConfusing in written form

Synopsis

London, 1879. The prestigious Explorers Club is in crisis: their acting president wants to admit a woman, and their bartender is terrible.

True, this female candidate is brilliant, beautiful, and has discovered a legendary Lost City, but the decision to let in a woman could shake the very foundation of the British Empire, and how do you make such a decision without a decent drink?

Grab your safety goggles for some very mad science involving deadly cobras, irate Irishmen and the occasional airship.

Press Reviews

"The title location is where Victorian men of science ponder the mysteries of nature while genteelly getting blotto… But the most impressive act of mixology belongs to playwright Nell Benjamin, whose comedy recipe goes a little like this: two parts Blackadder, one part Monty Python, a dash of Shaw, shake wildly and garnish with fresh feminist ire."
— Time Out New York

"The jokes come barreling fast and furious… but, like most farces, the effect is cumulative. By the time all the various comic strands start weaving together in the second act, the silliness has gotten contagious."
— Entertainment Weekly

"In her hijinks-happy cocktail The Explorers Club, Nell Benjamin follows this recipe: To a starchy bunch of science geeks bemoaning the worst barkeep in London, add a plucky adventurer and her discovery, a trouble-making tribesman. Then shake, stir and serve in an eye-catching vessel, and brace for laughter."
— New York Daily News

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Phyllida Spotte-Hume An anthropologist.	—	—	An anthropologist.
Harry Percy An intrepid explorer.	—	—	An intrepid explorer.
Luigi A NaKong tribesman.	—	—	A NaKong tribesman.
Professor Cope An herpetologist.	—	—	An herpetologist.
Professor Sloane An archeo-theologist.	—	—	An archeo-theologist.
Professor Walling A zoologist.	—	—	A zoologist.
Sir Bernard Humphries Private secretary to Queen Victoria.	female	—	Private secretary to Queen Victoria.
Beebe An explorer (also plays the Irish Assassin).	—	—	An explorer (also plays the Irish Assassin).
Countess Glamorgan A countess, née Andromache Spotte-Hume, twin to Phyllida (played by the same actress).	female	—	A countess, née Andromache Spotte-Hume, twin to Phyllida (played by the same actress).
Lucius Fretway A botanist and a man of science.	—	—	A botanist and a man of science.