A jewel in the crown of British playwrights

Anglo-Irish writer Oliver Goldsmith's 18th century proto-feminist comedy is considered one of the jewels in British theatre history. A laugh-out-loud comedy from start to finish the play first premiered in London in 1773, and regularly finds itself on education curricula and the stage in English-speaking countries across the world. The story revolves around a raucous series of mistaken identities and social faux pas, taking a light-hearted swipe at snobbery between the upper and lower classes of the Georgian era. Plus, TACT have a little surprise in store for audiences.....

Let the games begin!

Directed and adapted for a more modern audience by Scott Alan Evans, we follow the truly chaotic efforts of a wealthy young man as he tries to woo a seemingly lowly barmaid; his fear around high-class women has stunted his behavior, and thus he can only feel comfortable talking down to those lower in social status than he. However, the barmaid in question is the daughter of his betrothed, the wealthy daughter of his father's acquaintance, who decides to "stoop" to a maid's status in order to win his heart.

However, nobody has counted on the actions of a mischievous interloper, who, determined to throw even more chaos into the mix, decides to play a trick on the young man and his hapless friend, who also finds himself dragged into the proceedings whilst pursuing the girl's wealthy cousin. Prepare for some toe-curlingly awkward moments and winces galore as the story unfolds!