Code Of The West At The Tabard Theatre

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A comedy about the ultimate California dream

Manipulative media, bankers behaving badly, and plans for a royal wedding … welcome to Victorian San Francisco. Code of the West makes its UK stage debut on Wednesday, Oct 16, written and directed by Mark Giesser.

In this strangely familiar world, an eccentric Englishman rules as Norton the First, Emperor of the United States. At least he thinks he does. And his new dynasty needs an heir. So when a Russian Countess and her English secretary suddenly arrive and announce that they are ready to talk marriage, it could be time for the wedding of the century. That’s if the Emperor’s official imperial bank doesn’t collapse, or his official imperial newspaper doesn’t cause a diplomatic incident. Or he doesn’t get sent to prison.

Based loosely around the incredible life and times of Joshua Abraham Norton - the self-proclaimed Emperor of the United States, a loveable fantasist who, having had his whimsical declaration of leadership declared in the San Francisco Bulletin, warmly engaged a whole city who humoured to the degree that currency was printed in hisOctober 16, 2013r>
A man whose daily street expositions (including the need for a bridge across the bay…) were listened to with amused interest by the local townsfolk as he passed through ‘Frisco in his instantly recognisable blue military uniform and feathered cap inspecting the condition of cable cars and sidewalks. 

A man San Francisco so took to its heart that on his passing – after some 21 years ‘in post’- 30,000 took to its streets to mourn, whose legend has come to be immortalised in the writings of Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson and whose tale now makes a UK stage debut.

Cast: David Janson plays Emperor Norton. His career in British stage and television spans an extensive range of work from his early days with the Royal Shakespeare Company to the recent No. 1 tour of KEEPING UP APPEARANCES and he has appeared in 'Allo 'Allo (Herr Flick) and many television appearances.

Zoe Teverson (Claire Greenleaf) trained at Arts Ed, next door to the Tabard and has since appeared in two of Mark Giesser’s productions, Bell, Book and Candle and Good Morning Alamo! which premiered at the Tabard earlier this year.

October 15, 2013