The Vortex

Act One

The play opens in the drawing room of Florence Lancaster’s London flat. Pauncefort Quentin (known as “Pawnie”) and Helen Lancaster are shown in and wait for Florence. While they are alone, they discuss Florence and her relationship with her son, Nicky. They immediately reveal that Florence is an aging beauty with a penchant for younger men who continue to make her feel young. Meanwhile, her son, Nicky, is a talented pianist who, Pawnie believes, will “go on wasting his opportunities until he dies”. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Clara Hibbert. She complains loudly about her headache and a function she is due to sing at that evening, but Pawnie is quick to mock her melodramatic tendencies. Clara has only come to borrow a particular fan from Florence and so lies down on the sofa to wait (and continue moaning).

Florence arrives home with her younger companion, Tom Veryan, in tow. She quickly orders cocktails for them all but Clara, having succeeded in her