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Overview

Synopsis

The Earl of Loam fancies himself a radical, modern thinker, a true futurist and intellectual, and to prove that class is nonexistent and all men are equal, throws a tea for his household staff once a month, and forces his three indolent, fashionable daughters, and any guests they might have at the time, to serve as hosts. This social transgression annoys his entire household, especially Crichton, the butler, a man who holds strong opinions about the dignity of the British ruling class, the sanctity of the established order, and the tendency of Nature to have the elite few rule over the many. To prove his point, Lord Loam takes a group composed of himself, his daughters -- Mary, Catherine, and Agatha -- his nephew (and suitor to Agatha) Ernest, and Treherne the clergyman (suitor to Catherine) on a sea voyage with only two servants -- Crichton and Tweeny, the humble “between maid” -- to take care of them, a form of “roughing it” in the wild Atlantic waters. When the party is shipwrecked on a deserted island, where a living can be hewn from the wilderness only by those with the skill to do so, the admirable Crichton proves to be the most intelligent, resourceful, and able man to command the party. After a brief resistance on everyone’s part, survival compels them to follow his lead, and after two years’ time, Crichton builds a utopian island home, an ingenious little civilization where he rules, kindly but firmly, believing that on an island, Nature requires him to step into the elite role of master, and the formerly aristocratic others, now his worshipful servants, live a life composed of healthy exercise and willing labor. Crichton’s happiness is nearly complete when Lord Loam’s eldest daughter, Mary, happily accepts his proposal of marriage. But when the party is rescued, the new social order crumbles as Lord Loam reasserts himself, Mary returns to her stuffy fiance, and Crichton steps back into his former role. Will Mary’s mother-in-law to-be discover the scandalous events of the past two years? Will Crichton’s sense of self-sacrifice stand up to extreme insult? Will Ernest, who has written a thrilling memoir of the island, starring himself, ruin everything by letting slip the truth? Hilarity and hypocrisy run rampant, and upstairs/downstairs meets indoors/outdoors in J. M. Barrie’s fantastical adventure comedy The Admirable Crichton, which explores divisions of social class, the strict hierarchical orders in place at the time -- and indeed, in many times -- and the effects of Nature on all sorts of behaviors.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
4
First Produced
1902
Genres
Comedy
Settings
Period, Fantasy/Imaginary, Multiple Settings
Time & Place
Loam House, Mayfair, London, a Deserted Island, 1900s
Cast Size
medium
Licensor
None/royalty-free
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Includes Adult, Late Teen, Young Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly Characters, Medium Cast

Context


Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Crichton

Lead

Male

Spoken

Lady Mary Lasenby

Lead

Female

Spoken

Tweeny

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Lady Agatha Lasenby

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Lady Catherine Lasenby

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Reverend John Treherne

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Lord Loam

Supporting

Male

Spoken

The Hon. Ernest Woolley

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Lord Brocklehurst

Supporting

Male

Non-singer

Fisher

Featured

Female

Spoken

Lady Brocklehurst

Featured

Female

Spoken

Tompsett

Featured

Male

Spoken

Servants

Ensemble

Either Gender

Silent

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

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Key Terms

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Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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