Gilbert is dead
By: Robin French
Publisher: Methuen Drama
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Format: [electronic resource] /
Number of pages: 62
Description: 'Gilbert Is Dead' is a Victorian scientific mystery play: a clever, funny and moving portrait of grief, faith and science. The plot follows Lucius Trickett, London's most celebrated taxidermist, who finds himself in cahoots with Queen Victoria and the hero Gilbert Shirley, to disprove Darwin's theory of evolution. The key is a stuffed specimen of the mysterious ghost loris, suicidal enough to disprove the theory that every animal struggles for survival. But Gilbert goes missing and the fate of Trickett's private museum hangs in the balance. The play's distinctive, often surrealist voice is characterised by historically intelligent, meticulously researched subjects and a precise, quirky sense of irony. 'Gilbert is Dead' premiered at Hoxton Music Hall, London in 2009.