George Farquhar

This completely new edition of The Recruiting Officer contains a freshly-edited play text, with new annotations, in modern spelling. Tiffany Stern's comprehensive and engaging introduction discusses the author's career and gives a history of the play including its staging, critical interpretation, date and sources, putting it its context of the late Restoration and illuminating its theatrical vivacity. Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer is set in Shrewsbury in 1704 and describes what happens in a country town when the army come to stay. With cross-dressing and confusion in plenty, this is a comedy exploring the timeless themes of love and war. One of Farquhar's last two plays, The Recruiting Officer is both entertaining and touching. It has a light, humane touch and its original depiction of a real-life provincial town comically explores the impact that ongoing warfare had on its civilian society.

From the play by George FarquharComedyCharacters: 8 male 5female with doubling Various Locations The play tells the story of two young bucks who having spent all their money by living too well leave London and roam from town to town in search of love and fortune. In order to find a wealthy heiress for at least one of them they pose as master and servant - exchanging roles from one town to the next. In Lichfield Aimwell is the master and Archer the servant and there they m