The
Death of Don Flagrante Delicto
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| Critical Preface to Published Text
The date is April
14, 1865, five days after theend of the Civil War and the night of
Lincoln's assassination. The place is a small plantation west of Lynchburg
in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The master of the plantation
is Don Flagrante Delicto, a megalomaniacal slave owner
who, with the help of his wife, children, three slaves, and a cast
of local folks, performs the plays he writes on a small stage behind
his barn.
Lately, however, due to the ravages of war, audiences have been scarce
and belligerent, so Don and his troupe have been forced to lurk beside
the nearby road, knock people on the head, and tie them down for the
performance. For this evening’s production, the audience-captives
consist of a yankee nurse, a confederate soldier, and a free negro.
The play is entitled "Aethelbert and Augustine," a true historical
tale of the Christian conversion in 600 AD of Aethelbert, King of
Anglo-Saxon England, by Augustine, a Roman Catholic missionary. During
the show, Don Flagrante narrates the text, attempting to justify his
way of life to the audience and investigating the deeper issues inherent
in the concepts of freedom, union, and justice.
Part morality play, part nihilist rant, part slave revolt, The Death
of Don Flagrante Delicto is certain to anger, enthuse, and entertain,
as it ravages through the timeless conundra on which America is founded.
