The Life and Times of Count Alessandro Cagliostro

A play by Gillian McIver

‘Who was Alessandro Cagliostro’?

Apologia is the first stage play to answer the question honestly. In this one-act play, the notorious magician Cagliostro mounts the self-defence he never made during his troubled lifetime.

He shares his troubled background and his education in magic and mysteries. His beloved wife and partner in crime, Serafina, offers her own perspective on their wild ride through 18th-century Europe and its flamboyant characters. Was she one of Casanova’s conquests – or did she stay loyal? Accused of everything from igniting the French Revolution to consorting with the Devil, the Count passionately addresses the charges against him.

Actor Maurizio Molino portrays Cagliostro as a flawed but magnetically charismatic antihero. The audience finally gets to hear Cagliostro’s Apologia after 300 years of mystery and controversy. The play is infused with historical research and recent biographies, bringing Cagliostro’s compelling story to life.

Follow @alchemytheatreLondon on Instagram for updates, rehearsal photos, interviews and more

Why Cagliostro?

Writer Gillian McIver came up with the idea of a stage play about Cagliostro when she was offered the position of Artist in Residence at Swedenborg House in London. This is a museum and archive dedicated to the 18th century mystic Emanuel Swedenborg. Gillian realised that “while the milieu that Swedenborg mixed in had many fascinating characters, there were few more astonishing than Alessandro Cagliostro. After reading his biographies, I discovered that there haven’t been many films made about him, and those that exist aren’t very good. And to my knowledge, there aren’t any stage plays, at least not in English.”

“There’s a terrible Orson Welles film Black Magic; it pulled out all the usual cliches about Cagliostro. Welles’s performance is pretty good though”

But Cagliostro seemed to be a man of our time as much as his own. “He was an influencer, that’s for sure,” Gillian says. “He travelled all over Europe, from London’s secret Masonic societies to the Russian court, connecting with the most important and powerful people. He managed to convince many of them that he was a powerful magician.” Whether he was really one, or whether his enemies were right that he was a charlatan, cannot be proven either way, but “I thought it would be. a great idea to let him make his own apologia – or testimony – to the audience.” Gillian decided to focus on the relationship between Cagliostro, his infamous rival Casanova and his wife Serafina, who was acclaimed across Europe for her beauty.

“It’s an exciting story, says Gillian. “At times absurd, often funny, sometimes a bit scary and even a little tragic.” After all, Cagliostro met his fate at the hands of the Inquisition. “But,” she concludes, “we’ve always loved stories about grifters, chancers and antiheroes. They never go away – every society has them.” The enigmatic “Count” Cagliostro may be this season’s most gripping con-man, at least until the US elections.

Charlatan, chameleon or cosmic adept?  APOLOGIA is a gripping historical play about the real-life astounding adventures of infamous magician Cagliostro.

Apologia was performed at the OLD RED LION THEATRE for CAMDEN FRINGE FESTIVAL 2024

“an exciting personality ignored by history whose exploits seem to deserve restoration ” TheReviewHub

“Jagoda Kamov is good as young Cagliostro, conveying mischief and terror, and is a strong Serafina, especially good in the scene where she first meets the mysterious Count, and more than a match for Casanova. Casanova is embodied by Luke Lindemann, and he steals the scenes he is in, white-faced, viper-tongued, and confident. Tommy Papaioannou plays both the magic doctor and an Igor-like servant, obsequient and oily.” Lou Reviews

“I do hope it gets further developed to see its full potential realised” Shinylife