or, the Mistakes of a Night
written by Oliver Goldsmith
directed by Claire Hoult
performed May 6-8 1999
Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle live in a rambling mansion with their
daughter Kate and Tony Lumpkin, Mrs. Hardcastle's son by a previous
marriage. Mr. Hardcastle is trying to partner Kate with a suitable
husband, while Mrs. Hardcastle hopes to have her son Tony marry her
niece Constance Neville (Tony's cousin). Upon his arrival in town,
Kate's suitor, Charles Marlow, is led to the Hardcastle mansion under
the misapprehension that it is an inn. Not realising he is in the
home of potential in-laws, Marlow acts with supreme arrogance,
eventually falling in love with Kate in the belief that she is a
servant. Mr. Hardcastle cannot abide young Marlow's arrogant
behaviour, but Kate is determined to win her father's approval of
Marlow, using her feminine wiles to win the day.
