A Message from Mars

A Message from Mars is a play by Richard Ganthony, first performed at London's Avenue Theatre in November 1899. Summary The play presents an unusual evening in the life of Horace Parker, a selfish man. Horace refuses to escort Minnie, his ward and fiancee, to a ball because he would prefer to spend his evening at home reading about new discoveries about the planet Mars. Minnie goes to the ball with another escort, leaving Horace home alone. Horace falls asleep and dreams that he is visited by a man, a Messenger from Mars. The Messenger sets out to cure Horace of his selfishness. After a series of visions, the Messenger reduces Horace to a beggar in rags. Having realized the error of his ways, Horace awakens a changed man. Authorship and controversy Ganthony said that the emphasis on play building came from his acting experiences (in plays like The Cat and the Cherub) and helped shape the elements that were used in A Message from Mars. Ganthony used A Message from Mars to convey the negative consequences of selfishness via exploiting an extremely selfish man while also using astronomy as a tool in conveying these consequences.