Ridiculusmus is a British theatre company founded in 1992 by Angus Barr, Jon Haynes and David Woods, who became co-directors in 1996. Their first few productions were adaptations of novels. Since 1997 Haynes and Woods have devised and written all but one of Ridiculusmus' plays. Some of these have been published by

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, acting, writin ...

and commissioned by the

Barbican A barbican (from ) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe Medieval Europeans typically b ...

, London.

History

The founding members met as students at London's Poor School and began

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...

on the

London underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

and doing comedy club open spots. They called themselves Mel, Pat & Harm, and performed comic songs from the 1920s and 1930s to the accompaniment of Barr's ukulele. They also opened a

Dadaist Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

comedy club called The Tomato Club. On graduating from The Poor School, Ridiculusmus filled a cancelled slot at London's

Canal Cafe Theatre The Canal Café Theatre is a 60-seat fringe theatre venue in Little Venice, London, England, specialising in comedy performances. Location The theatre is above the Bridge House pub on the corner of Westbourne Terrace Road and Delamere Terrace, a ...

with a hastily produced adaptation of

Jerome K. Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humorist, best known for the comic travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections '' Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow'' (1886) an ...

's ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...

.'' It played to mixed reviews and the troupe produced more adaptations; their next production was a

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortification, fortress or city walls ...

version of

Flann O'Brien Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth- ...

's novel ''

The Third Policeman ''The Third Policeman'' is a novel by Irish writer Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It was written in 1939 and 1940, but after it initially failed to find a publisher, the author withdrew the manuscript from circulation ...

''. Poor School graduates Kevin Henshall and Lucy Cuthbertson joined the company and Ridiculusmus was in residence at The Playhouse in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, Northern Ireland. Woods and Haynes then adapted another O'Brien novel, ''

At Swim-Two-Birds ''At Swim-Two-Birds'' is a 1939 novel by Irish writer Flann O'Brien, Brian O'Nolan, writing under the pseudonym Flann O'Brien. It is widely considered to be O'Brien's masterpiece, and one of the most sophisticated examples of metafiction. The ...

''.

Funding

The group, who had been project grant recipients, were up until the end of March 2015 a National portfolio organisation of the Arts Council of England.

References

{{authority control Theatre companies in London Theatre companies in England Theatre companies in Northern Ireland Touring theatre