SYNOPSIS
London, 1696. Edgar Blakemoor, the black sheep of his respectable but debt-ridden family, prefers painting and science experiments to social obligation. Nearing 40 and still living at the family estate, Edgar has recently found his soul mate in Sophie Wentworth, the 32-year old daughter of a physician, who is equally eccentric in her devotion to the arts and sciences. But when Edgar’s brother dies while serving with the English army abroad, Edgar must take his place so that he can support his family, which includes not only his wife-to-be, but also his mother Margaret, who disapproves of his decision to marry the “terribly old” and socially unsuitable Sophie. Sophie is nonetheless left to care for the cranky old woman, while the newly dubbed Captain Blakemoor joins his regiment in its winter quarters on the continent.
He and Sophie write each other every day, but eventually find themselves going down different paths. Sophie busies herself with her latest acquisition, a microscope; Edgar discovers his skills as a leader and becomes intoxicated with the thought that he is a budding warrior-poet. But his first encounter with a dead soldier awakens Edgar to the realities of war, igniting his fear and leading him to betray his own conscience in an effort to get back home. As Edgar goes into a nihilistic spiral, Sophie becomes obsessed by her latest scientific endeavor, a determination to cure typhus. The two are soon in a state that threatens to tear them apart permanently. And just as Edgar realizes he may have lost his love forever, he has to face what he fears most – his first battle.
CHARACTERS
Edgar Blakemoor, late 30s, a member of the landed gentry who joins the English army
Margaret, 60s, Edgar’s widowed mother
Jack, mid 30s, Edgar’s brother
Sophie Wentworth, early 30s, Edgar’s fiancée
Robert Wentworth, late 50s, Sophie’s father
Major Nathaniel Fenwick, early 40s, senior major of Edgar’s regiment
Thomas Bailey, early 20s, soldier
Philip Harris, mid-20s, soldier
Soldier
Servant
(Total of 6-7 actors required with doubling)
TIME AND SETTING
Time: As the War of the League of Augsburg (also known as the Nine Years War) is coming to a close, from the autumn of 1696 to the autumn of 1697
Setting: The action of the play primarily takes place in two locations, on an English estate right outside of London, and in the winter quarters of an English army regiment stationed on the European continent. Because the two main characters, Edgar and Sophie, spend much of the play communicating between these two locations via letters – which they speak to each other almost as if they were talking normally – we should be able to see both settings. The estate is stage right, and the army quarters stage left, with the downstage area being flexible as needed.
E-MAIL BROOKE IF YOUR THEATER GROUP IS INTERESTED IN PRODUCING CAPTAIN BLAKEMOOR SURRENDERS OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE A COMPLETE COPY OF THE SCRIPT
