Act 1, Part 1 Summary

Travesties represents fantasy, history, and tribute to a great play - The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde. Set within the memories of a diplomat stationed in Switzerland during World War I, the play utilizes historically documented relationships between the Russian political theorist, Vladimir Illych Lenin, the Irish novelist, James Joyce, and the Dadaist philosopher, Tristan Tzara. They are the basis for a highly theatrical and comically complex tale of miscommunication, romance, and intellectual confrontation.

As the play begins, Gwen and Joyce are sitting at a table in the library, busy with research. At another table, Lenin is also busy with research. At a third table, Tzara cuts up a piece of paper on which are written the words of a poem. He drops each word into a hat, shakes it up, pulls out words at random, arranges them into...