A Trip to Scarborough

It is a technically demanding piece as the actors are required to take on several roles, with quick changes between scenes as the play switches from the 18th century to World War II to the present day.

[3] The hero of the play, Tom Fashion, arrives penniless in Scarborough, attended by but one faithful servant, Lory, who privately informs the audience that he will never desert his master until he pays him his wages.

Townley tells him that Lord Foppington is about to be married to a rich young lady, the daughter of Sir Tunbelly Clumsey, a gentleman of the region.

The plot thickens as Colonel Townley's beloved Berinthia comes on the scene; he sees her as a frustratingly capricious woman, but she mainly acts this way because she wants to severely test her admirer's fidelity before accepting his proposals, not satisfied with his previous loose way of life.

Quickly ingratiating himself there, the father agrees for them to be wedded the next week, but Tom bribes Miss Hoyden's nurse to marry at once, before Lord Foppington's imminent arrival.