The Conquest of Everest

A delectably loony play. It starts off quite properly, with a man and woman scaling Mount Everest through the clouds - in summer clothes and barefoot. They are well equipped, however: a sandwich, bottle of coke, a Brownie camera and a penlight in case it gets dark on the way down. They mount the summit just before the arrival of a Chinese soldier, with oxygen mask, banner and machine gun. He is considerably perplexed. But back to our two American tourists: they decide that they like each other, that they ought to quit their guided tour and proceed by themselves, and that it is now time to descend.