First performed in Macclesfield in 1854, London Assurance is a jolly, riotous, rip-roaring, farcical romp through town and country that influenced the works of Oscar Wilde, particularly his ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’.
Flamboyant fop Sir Harcourt Courtly is lured away from the epicentre of fashionable London by the promise of a rich and beautiful bride, Grace, several decades his junior. Arriving at Oak Hall, Gloucestershire, he marvels at this rural Venus until her charms are eclipsed by the hearty and spirited foxhunting Lady Gay Spanker. Meanwhile his disguised son Charles turns up in flight from his creditors and falls head over heels for Grace. When Lady Spanker discovers the young couple, she needs little prompting from the visiting chancer Dazzle to lead Sir Harcourt astray.
Tally-ho!
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