The Alchemist: every role by lines, words, and stage time

Ben Jonson. 21 speaking roles, 26,219 words, about 187 minutes of speech.

The Offbook team

Oct 8, 2026

Face has the most to say in The Alchemist: about 1,060 lines and 8,216 words, 31.3% of the play. The Alchemist is Jonson’s verse comedy about a servant and a con man who run swindles from a London house while its master is away. Face and Subtle together hold more than half the words, and Face speaks in 10 of 11 sections. Sir Epicure Mammon is the next largest part, while Lovewit speaks only in Act 5.

Speaking roles: 21
Scenes: 11
Words: 26,219
Speech time: 187 min

Every role, largest first

Role	Lines	Words	Share	Minutes	Scenes
Face	1,060	8,216	31.3%	58.7	10
Subtle	898	6,958	26.5%	49.7	9
Sir Epicure Mammon	419	3,306	12.6%	23.6	5
Pertinax Surly	195	1,513	5.8%	10.8	6
Dol Common	192	1,400	5.3%	10.0	7
Lovewit	154	1,174	4.5%	8.4	2
Kastril	121	812	3.1%	5.8	6
Ananias	99	736	2.8%	5.3	6
Tribulation Wholesome	76	617	2.4%	4.4	4
Drugger	79	569	2.2%	4.1	5
Dapper	90	542	2.1%	3.9	4
Dame Pliant	11	73	0.3%	0.5	3
1 Neighbour	12	67	0.3%	0.5	1
2 Neighbour	11	62	0.2%	0.4	1
6 Neighbour	8	52	0.2%	0.4	1
3 Neighbour	9	41	0.2%	0.3	1
Officer	4	25	0.1%	0.2	2
4 Neighbour	4	20	0.1%	0.1	1
5 Neighbour	5	18	0.1%	0.1	1
2 Officer	2	12	0%	0.1	1
1 Officer	1	3	0%	0.0	1

Who speaks in which scene

Darker cells mean more words in that scene. Use it to plan rehearsal calls, or to see how long an actor waits between entrances.

Role	1.1	2.1	3.1	3.2	4.1	4.2	4.3	4.4	5.1	5.2	5.3
Face
Subtle
Sir Epicure Mammon
Pertinax Surly
Dol Common
Lovewit
Kastril
Ananias
Tribulation Wholesome
Drugger
Dapper

The longest speeches

Speech	Scene	Words	Lines
Subtle: “It is, of the one part, A humid exhalation, wh…”	Act 2, Scene 1	260	26
Sir Epicure Mammon: “No. I’ll have no bawds, But fathers and mother…”	Act 2, Scene 1	239	24
Tribulation Wholesome: “Not always necessary: The children of perditio…”	Act 3, Scene 1	238	24
Dol Common: “You’ll bring your head within a cockscomb, wil…”	Act 1, Scene 1	213	22
Sir Epicure Mammon: “Come on, sir. Now, you set your foot on shore …”	Act 2, Scene 1	206	21
Subtle: “This qualifies most! Why, thus it should be, n…”	Act 3, Scene 2	201	21
Pertinax Surly: “O, make your approach, good Captain. I have fo…”	Act 4, Scene 4	178	18
Face: “Ay, sir, And gallants yet. Here’s a young gent…”	Act 3, Scene 2	166	17
Subtle: “Son, I doubt You are covetous, that thus you m…”	Act 2, Scene 1	151	16
Subtle: “O, I did look for him With the sun’s rising: ’…”	Act 1, Scene 1	149	15

Small roles that can be doubled

These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way.

Lovewit and Dame Pliant
Tribulation Wholesome and Dame Pliant
Drugger and 1 Neighbour
Drugger and 2 Neighbour
Drugger and 6 Neighbour
Drugger and 3 Neighbour
Drugger and 4 Neighbour
Drugger and 5 Neighbour
Dapper and Dame Pliant
Dapper and 2 Officer
Dapper and 1 Officer
Dame Pliant and 1 Neighbour

Questions actors ask

Who has the most lines in The Alchemist?

Face, with about 1,060 lines and 8,216 words, 31.3% of everything spoken in the play. Subtle is next, with about 898 lines (26.5%).

How long is The Alchemist?

The full text has 26,219 spoken words, about 187 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary.

How many speaking roles are in The Alchemist?

21 named roles speak in this edition, across 11 scenes. 10 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled.