singlemindedly renounces dullness – this is what Lettice calls 'the mere' – exudes such unshakable tedium." and "It is disillusioning to confront the defectiveness of Mr. Shaffer's construction without a star of transcendent artistry – or is it alchemy? – to hold it up." The Times also calls into question Shaffer's re-write, stating, "the third act... is a set-up for a last-minute upbeat switch, a solution for coping with the present that is inane and fake." Lettice and Lovage was Shaffer's first comedic work in over 20 years. He had not written a comedy since 1964's Black Comedy which also starred Maggie Smith, instead building a reputation with an entire generation of theatregoers as a master of drama with his plays Equus, Royal Hunt of the Sun, and Amadeus. Characters Lettice Douffet Lotte Schoen Miss Framer Mr. Bardolph A Surly Man Visitors to Fustian House Synopsis Lettice and Lovage is set in England. The action takes place in three primary locations: the Grand Hall of Fustian House, Wiltshire, England, Miss Schoen's office at the Preservation Trust, Architrave Place, London and Miss Douffet's basement apartment, Earls Court, London. This synopsis delineates the action of the production seen by American audiences in 1990. Act one Lettice Douffet is showing a group of tourists around Fustian House, an old, dreary, and (as the name suggests) fusty sixteenth-century hall. The rain-drenched tourists are clearly bored and miserable. Lettice is reciting a rehearsed monologue pointing out the not-very-interesting history of the hall. As the tourists leave in a kind of stupor, Lettice feels dejected. The scene shifts to several days later at the same spot. Lettice is again reciting her boring monologue, but suddenly she is filled with inspiration and begins improvising a wildly untrue (yet entertaining) story about the staircase in the hall. The tourists are jolted from their reveries and thoroughly enraptured by her tale. Some days later, Lettice is once again telling the "history" of the hall, only her tale has become even more fanciful and grandiose. She is filled with confidence and the (larger) audience of excited tourists hangs on her every word. Lettice is challenged by a disagreeable fellow who demands to see her references for the story. She successfully averts his questions, much to the enjoyment of the rest of the crowd. The next scene reveals Lettice telling an even larger version of the now completely ridiculous yet salacious