The man who ate the popomack : A tragi-comedy of love in four acts

Set in a bustling picture gallery on a Saturday morning, the drama opens with a dapper man‑about‑town and an oddly philosophical old gentleman locked in a witty debate over modern art. Their exchange—mixing sarcasm, baffling self‑identities, and a critique that likens avant‑garde canvases to butchered mincemeat—establishes the play’s off‑beat tone. Through their repartee, the audience catches a glimpse of the larger social tapestry that will soon involve financiers, aristocrats, and imagined companions.

As the action moves from the gallery into the opulent drawing‑rooms of Sir Solomon Raub and later the stylish flats of Lord Belvoir, love, ambition, and memory begin to tangle in surprising ways. Turner invites actors to portray not only spoken dialogue but also fleeting dream‑scenes that exist solely in the characters’ minds, blurring the line between reality and imagination. The result is a tragi‑comedy in four acts that balances sharp social satire with tender, sometimes absurd, moments of affection, promising a lively listening experience without giving away the later twists.