Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know (play)
| Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Ron Blair |
| Based on | letters of Lord Byron |
| Directed by | Richard Wherrett |
| Characters | Lord Byron |
| Date premiered | March 1976 |
| Place premiered | Adelaide Arts Theatre Adelaide |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | Lord Byron |
| Setting | Genoa Greece |
Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know is a 1975 Australian play by Ron Blair about Lord Byron based on Byron's letters.[1] It was a one man play originally performed by John Bell.[2] The play was especially written for Bell.[3]
The play debuted at the Adelaide Festival in 1976.[4]
Reception
"Somehow the aftertaste is unpleasant," wrote the Sydney Sun Herald.[5]
"The portrait is monotonous, soon tiresome," wrote Romola Costatino the Sydney Morning Herald, reviewing the Adelaide debut.[6] Months later reviewing the Sydney production the same critic felt the work had been much improved and "is now a strong, gripping study of a fascinating man."[7]
David Marr in The Bulletin compared the play with Blair's earlier one man play The Christian Brothers. He wrote "Mad, Bad is not the haymaker of Brothers but it’s meatier and more ambitious than might be expected. At times, describing Shelley’s beach cremation, for instance, it has something of the impact that Brothers demonstrates is possible in this hyper-risky, concentrated format."[8]
The Canberra Times wrote "We leave the Playhouse conscious that the piece began with a death remembered — that of his mother. It ends with Byron's own last breath, the conclusion of a life and a theatrical moment which both leave us richer for the encounter."[9]
The Sydney Tribune felt the pay "works best in -the first act with Byron inGenoa in 1822 surveying with cynical self-awareness the amazing litter of his amorous conquests. The second act, with Byron on his deathbed in Greece two years later, is thinner and less convincingly handled, the play losing some of its dramatic force as one becomes more conscious of the letters as such, rather than the inner workings of the man who wrote them."[10]
The Australian Jewish Times called it "an excellent showpiece for John Bell's outstanding talent.... The evening is no more than an extremely well presented literary exercise."[11]
Adaptations
The play was adapted for ABC radio in 1989.
References
- ^ "The Cold War comes to Kabul". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 May 1973. p. 7.
- ^ "PORTRAIT OF LORD BYRON". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 347. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 April 1976. p. 19. Retrieved 3 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "LIFE STYLE". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 204. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 23 October 1975. p. 16. Retrieved 3 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The World's have nots find a brand new sponsor". The Age. 20 March 1976. p. 21.
- ^ "Mad bad dangerous". The Sydney Sun Herald. 21 March 1976. p. 94.
- ^ "Machetes out at the Adelaide Festival". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 March 1976. p. 7.
- ^ "Byron, run in". The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 July 1976. p. 7.
- ^ "THEATRE The agony and ecstasy of the one-man show", The Bulletin, Sydney, N.S.W.: John Haynes and J.F. Archibald, 24 July 1976, nla.obj-1776639935, retrieved 3 February 2026 – via Trove
- ^ "THEATRE A fine view of Byron". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 345. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 April 1976. p. 7. Retrieved 3 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "REVIEWS". Tribune. No. 1959. New South Wales, Australia. 21 July 1976. p. 8. Retrieved 3 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "BYRON". The Australian Jewish Times. Vol. 83, no. 46. New South Wales, Australia. 22 July 1976. p. 19. Retrieved 3 February 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
- Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know at Ausstage