Archy is a cockroach. But not your average, common or garden cockroach - he is an author !

One morning in the 'Roaring Twenties' New York reporter Don Marquis beheld an extraordinary cockroach named Archy diving head first onto the keys of his typewriter, slowly and painfully creating delightful poems and stories. These literary jottings showcased Archy's thoughts on the wayward ways of the world and the even more wayward ways of his fantastic companion, Mehitabel, an alley cat of dubious morals.

Archy's splendid literary efforts became a cult comic strip masterpiece, and have inspired books and syndicated newspaper features throughout America, a jazz opera, a BBC radio series and even a Broadway musical.

And Archy and Mehitabel aren't alone. We meet assorted friends and acquaintances: Polly, a parrot who knew Shakespeare; Maximilian, a moth with suicidal tendencies; Montgomery, a theatre cat of the old school; Francy, a formidable feline reincarnation of French poet Francois Villon; and a vainglorious lightning bug called Broadway.

Splendid Next Stage quartet, John Matthews, Bridget Newman, Dave Dunn and Lesley Langley bring these and many more intriguing characters to life in this production, which turns Don Marquis' satiric spotlight on America's fascination with such phenomena as the Grand Tour of Europe, Prohibition, Inter-Planetary Travel, U.S. Politics and the Cult of Celebrity.