The Wicked World The Wicked World The Wicked World is a blank verse play by W. S. Gilbert in three acts. It opened at the Haymarket Theatre on 1873 and ran for a successful 145 performances, closing on 1873. The play is an allegory loosely based on a short illustrated story of the same title by Gilbert, written in 1871 and published in Tom Hood's "Comic Annual", about how pure fairies cope with a sudden introduction to them of "mortal love." Set in "Fairy Land", the action occurs within the space of 24 hours. Gilbert envisioned the set as resembling John Martin's 1853
Acis and Galatea (Handel) work's text. The libretto also borrowed freely from John Dryden's English translation of Ovid published in 1717, "The Story of Acis, Polyphemus and Galatea". "Acis and Galatea" was first performed in the summer of 1718 at Cannons with local tradition holding that the work was performed outside on the terraces overlooking the garden. This is the period in which the gardens at Cannons were being extensively 'improved' with water features that included an impressive "jet d'eau", and so the choice of "Acis and Galatea" at this time, given that the conclusion requires a fountain, seems particularly apt. It is not