| The Cardinal's Collation | |
| Characters: | Cardinal Gonzaga de Castro Cardinal Rufo Cardinal Montmorency Butler Cook Footmen |
| Setting: | Vatican, during the papacy of Benedict XIV |
| Place: | Teatro Dona Amélia, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Orig Lang: | Portuguese |
The Cardinals' Collation (pt|'''A Ceia dos Cardeais''') is one-act play by Portuguese playwright Júlio Dantas, premiered on 24 March 1902. Originally written in Alexandrine couplets, it mostly comprises three monologues by three cardinals — one Portuguese, one French, and one Spanish — who are reminiscing about their first loves over a supper of pheasant with truffles in a richly-appointed Vatican room.[1]
The first adaptation of the work into the English language was made by H. A. Saintsbury; it was first performed at the Globe Theatre in London on 7 February 1926.[2] A BBC Television studio production was made in 1938.[3]