Measure for Pleasure is a play written by David Grimm

David Grimm (playwright)

David Grimm is an American playwright and screenwriter, residing in Brooklyn, New York.-Early years:Grimm was born October 18, 1965, in Oberlin, Ohio, and raised in Israel. In Junior High, David Grimm produced, directed, and starred in an 1890’s melodrama which was presented to the entire Oberlin...

. It is set in the style of a Restoration comedy

Restoration comedy

Restoration comedy refers to English comedies written and performed in the Restoration period from 1660 to 1710. After public stage performances had been banned for 18 years by the Puritan regime, the re-opening of the theatres in 1660 signalled a renaissance of English drama...

and concerns the romantic couplings of a host of nobles and servants.

Plot summary

Set in 1751, Measure for Pleasure uses classic farce, including mistaken identities, mismatched lovers, deception and clever wordplay.

Sir Peter Lustforth is bored with his wife, Lady Vanity Lustforth, and aims to seduce the virginal Hermione Goode. However, he must first overcome formidable obstacles in his wife and Hermione's guardian, Dame Stickle. He is also rivaled by Captain Dick Dashwood, a notorious rake. After Hermione rejects him based on his notorious reputation, Dashwood decides to fake his own death to prove to Hermione that he is capable of faithfulness, though he considers a final affair with the new chambermaid, the transgendered former prostitute, Molly Tawdry. Complications arise when Molly falls in love with Dashwood, breaking the heart of Will Blunt, the lovestruck valet who saved her from the streets.