Giordano Bruno was as modern in this play as in his universe filled with inhabitable worlds. NASA is right now looking for the worlds Bruno predicted. But Bruno is downright funny in his play, as he is "dead serious" in the works for which he died. Here we're more likely to die--laughing. Bony thinks he's bedding his lover, but it's his wife. The scientist Bart spends every moment trying to make gold, until his ignored wife takes a lover. The teacher Manny reads his poems to his boys hoping to attract them as they attract him. How the boys defeat Manny is humorous. Several Naples street hooligans put on security jackets and steal from Manny and others. At least one character above is bisexual. Is this a contemporary play, or Candelaio from nearly 440 years ago? Bruno only wrote one play, the best first play ever written. Printed in Paris in 1582, the play waited four hundred years for the world to catch up to Bruno--not just in astronomy. Many know Giordano Bruno's martyrdom, but nobody thinks him outrageously funny, until they read this play, and this version.
Performed in stage reading, Bridewell Theatre, London, 4 April 14, directed by Philippa Waller, produced by Tom Bruno Magdich. Casting by Simon Winkler. Plans for full production under way.
World Libraries that include: recently added, Royal Danish Library, Liceo Aristofane (Rome), KTU-Linz, Austria. Also, British Library, U Mass Renaissance Center, Mt Holyoke College, town libraries --Snow in Orleans, MA, Rogers in Bristol, RI, Fall River Library, MA, Taunton Public Library, MA, and new Bedford Public Library.
For two scenes from the Bridewell Theatre performance (4 April 14) see Youtube: "Candelaio Final Edit" (15 min). ( )

An interesting period piece, though somewhat quaint by today's standards. It's a fairly standard plot of infidelity, mixed identities, and scoundrels, with a touch of alchemy and sorcery thrown in. The plot pokes fun at the pretensions of the alchemist, the lovers, and the learned pedant who goes around spouting Latin phrases in the midst of pompous platitudes, and no one really understands him. There are several references to the main character being a candlebearer; the meaning of this phrase was apparently understood by the audiences of the time, as it is not explained in the text. Looking back to the introduction, it appears the phrase refers to sodomy. The plot is convoluted and complex, not just a simple melodrama, but the complexity actually detracts from the plot, as the characters are more caricatures, not fully developed, and it's difficult at times to tell who's who. It does fit much more in its own time than in ours, and so I judge it by what it is and where it belongs. It does lack the stiff moralizing of later plays; in fact, it is downright bawdy and lewd, and the sexual antics and language would make many a modern matron blush. This serves as a good reminder that at one time, stage plays were the entertainment of the working class, often not considered fit for the upper classes, and written to entertain hard working men. ( )