London Assurance

A riotously rip-roaring, rollicking comedy.

Ludicrous, ageing London dandy, Sir Harcourt Courtly, is lured from London to the countryside, by the promise of a rich, beautiful bride – Grace Harkaway – several decades his junior. His stylish shoes spattered with cow-manure, Sir Harcourt quickly finds Grace’s charms eclipsed by her hearty, fox-hunting cousin, Lady Gay Spanker. Meanwhile, his hell-raising son Charles appears, and falls madly in love with Grace.

Did you know that all the best satirical 'English' comedies of the 18th and early-19th centuries were written by Irishmen? Yes – that's right! William Congreve, Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Oliver Goldsmith were all Irish. Then, along came Dion Boucicault – a witty, selfish, deceitful charmer and bigamist, whose riotous first play inspired Irish satirists Oscar Wilde, Bernard Shaw and John Millington Synge. Opening at Covent Garden in 1841, London Assurance became an instant comedy smash hit, and has remained so ever since.