THE CHILTERN HUNDREDS

By William Douglas-Home performed in September

Directed by Joy Smith

Written in 1947, this comedy by William Douglas-Home ran for 651 performances at London’s Vaudeville Theatre and was made into a file in 1949.

A comedy of political machinations and romance; young Viscount Tony Pym wangles National Service leave on the pretext of standing as the Conservative candidate for a Parliamentary seat, East Milton, held by his family for generations.

The request, however, is a ruse to enable Pym to get home and marry his wealthy American fiancée, June Farrell, whilst she's still in England; but his master-plan backfires when he's swept into the election campaign for real! Beaten by Labour Party candidate Mr Cleghorn in a landslide election victory for the party, Tony's dejected by his defeat - until Cleghorn is elevated to the Lords, triggering a by-election.

In an attempt to save face and find means of employment to impress June, Pym is convinced by Cleghorn to stand again: this time as a socialist!  Pym’s family and staff’s reactions are varied and unexpected.

With thanks to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chiltern_Hundreds_(play)