Independent 9,038 / Phi

FU<n> (=amusement) + JI<g> (=dance); “a lot of” means last letter dropped in both cases

VE<a>L (=meat; “after one (=I) leaves” means letter “i” is dropped) in STARING (=looking); Robin Starveling, the tailor, plays Moonshine in the mechanicals’ production of Pyramus and Thisbe

<c>INCH (=simple thing); “heading off” means first letter dropped

Cryptically, if the moon is to shine, the “setting” is necessarily “dark”, without light; see 8

PP (=pages) in PEER (=parliamentarian); peppering with e.g. bullets would “make holes” in something

[TAR (=sailor) in SS (“on board”)] + HIP (=trendy)

S (=second) in APE (=copy, mimic)

LOW (=depressed, down) in [C<liché) (“hint of” means first letter only) + N (=note)]

[D<ay> (“beginning of” means first letter only) in E.G. (=say, for example)] + <da>Y (“end of” means last letter only)

Reversed (“knocked over”) and hidden (“in”) “eleganT CAFÉ TRAttoria”

[HIS (=the chap’s) + B (=born)] in T<heart>E (“confines of” means first and last letters only); Thisbe is one of the lovers in the play performed by the mechanicals in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, hence “theatrical” lover

Cryptically, “(the plant) MAY FLOWER” is a gardener’s vague assessment; the reference is to the ship Mayflower that carried the Pilgrim Fathers to the New World in 1620

LI<sb>ON (=capital city, of Portugal); “freeing of antimony (=Sb)” means the letters “sb” are dropped; a lion is a person of great courage, hence “hero”; see 29

ESPA (APSE=(entry at) 15; “rejected” indicates reversal) + DRILLE<d> (=with holes; “mostly” means last letter dropped

GUN’S (=heat’s); “circulating” indicates reversal; a heat is a gun, firearm in US slang; Snug, the joiner, plays Lion in the mechanical’s production of Pyramus and Thisbe

C (=colt) in <e>QUINE (=for horses; “topping” means first letter dropped); Peter Quince leads the troupe in the mechanicals’ production of Pyramus and Thisbe

NIG (GIN=spirit; “raised” indicates vertical reversal) + *(THE EPIC); “sprawling” is anagram indicator; a nightpiece is a picture or description of a night scene, hence “dark” narrative

I (=one) + SOME (=a quantity of) + RIC<e> (=grain; “mostly” means last letter dropped)

Hidden (“what’s seen in”) “BayreutH A LOt”; cleverly, the clue makes us think about Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, showcased each year at the Bayreuth festival, although this has nothing to do with the answer!

A + VEST (=jacket) + A; the Avesta are the Zoroastrian holy scriptures

ALBI<on> (historical England); “not feasible (=ON)” means the letters “on” are dropped; Albi is a cathedral city in southern France

N (=new) + <f>EEDING (=nutrition; “after missing starter” means first letter is dropped)

SN (=tin) + OUT (=on display); “snout” is prison slang for tobacco; Tom Snout, the tinker, plays Wall in the mechanicals’ production of Pyramus and Thisbe

E (=energy) in *(IS PLASTIC); “working with” is anagram indicator

SU<m>MARY (=short, used adjectivally, e.g. a summary description) + P (=page); “one male (=M) omitted” means one letter “m” is dropped; “that’s turned up” indicate (here full) vertical reversal; Pyramus is one of the lovers in the play performed by the mechanicals in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, hence “theatrical” lover

Cryptically, “not Aries” could mean avoiding one house (=sign) of the Zodiac

A + LL (=couple of lines) + URE (=river, in North Yorkshire); allure is attraction, appeal, draw (as noun)

B (=book) + ROGUE (= (used adjectivally) diverting from type)

YEA (=certainly) + R (=Queen)

WALL<y> (=fool); “curtailed” means mast letter dropped; the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe communicate through a hole in a wall; see 13D