Somewhere around the 1830s to 1840s, a new literary genre came on the scene: the penny dreadful. Serialized in the penny papers and some magazines of the day, these trashy tales became well-known for their lurid, crime-fueled plot lines, frequently involving themes of horror, murders, and other titillating topics.
In direct contrast to the more highfalutin writings of their contemporary titans like Dickens, the Bronte Sisters, Harding, and that lot, these largely anonymous scribes wrote their works under pen names and catered to the ‘lower classes’ who couldn’t afford the more expensive hardbound books. Names like Mary Elizabeth Braddon, James Malcolm Rymer, and his contemporary Thomas Peckett Prest would be joined by a more recent entry to this uh, illustrious field—Charles Ludlam, the author of The Mystery of Irma Vep.
Ludlam wrote the play in the 1980s, and the current production at Everyman Theatre (onstage through June 22, 2025) proves the genre has resonated for not only decades but centuries—still just as luridly, in this case also hilariously, entertaining.
Charles Ludlam—an actor, director, and writer—founded the Ridiculous Theatrical Company in 1967. It was widely regarded as one of the best avant-garde theatre companies of its type in the 60s, 70s, 80s and still today for its insouciant mix of drag, high-camp, classic theatre, and theatre of the macabre. I did a little digging around (as I do) and found out that he chose the title for Irma Vep as a nod to the gothic theme; it’s an anagram of Vampire and a tip of the hat to the character of the same name from a 1915 French film thriller.
Ludlam was known to have believed that, in theatre, “the more artificial, the more real. You can be both ridiculous and profound at the same time.” And he wasn’t shy about using his type of theatrical excess to highlight Queerness and to elevate high camp to the status he believed it deserved. It seems particularly serendipitous that Everyman’s production is helmed by uber talented director, Joseph W. Ritsch.
