Mother Clap's Molly House is a play by Mark Ravenhill

Mark Ravenhill

Mark Ravenhill is an English playwright, actor and journalist.His most famous plays include Shopping and Fucking , Some Explicit Polaroids and Mother Clap's Molly House . He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe...

 with music by Matthew Scott. It is based on an essay in the book of the same name by Rictor Norton

Rictor Norton

Dr. Rictor Norton is an American scholar of literary and cultural history, particularly gay history. He is based in London, England.- Biography :...

.

The play is a black comedy

Black comedy

A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...

 and explores the diversity of human sexuality. It is based partly in the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 of the 18th century, where the Molly house

Molly house

A Molly house is an archaic 18th century English term for a tavern or private room where homosexual and cross-dressing men could meet each other and possible sexual partners. Molly houses were one precursor to some types of gay bars....

 of Mother Clap

Margaret Clap

Margaret Clap , better known as Mother Clap, ran a coffee house from 1724 to 1726 in Holborn, London. Notable for running a molly house, an inn or tavern primarily frequented by homosexual men, she was also heavily involved in the ensuing legal battles after her premise was raided and shut down...

 caters to the gay subculture, and partly in 2001, where a group of wealthy gay men are preparing for a raunchy party. It was first performed in September 2001 at the National Theatre

Royal National Theatre

The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...

's Lyttelton Theatre. The play was directed by Nicholas Hytner

Nicholas Hytner

Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.-Biography:...

, produced by Phil Cameron

Phil Cameron

Phil Cameron is a British entrepreneur, the founder of No.1 Traveller, and a former Tony and Olivier Award-winning theatre producer.-Personal life:...

, the sets were designed by Giles Cadle and the costumes by Nicky Gillibrand

Nicky Gillibrand

Nicky Gillibrand is a theatrical costume designer who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design for Billy Elliot the Musical. She won the Gold Medal for Costume Design at the 2003 Prague Quadrenale for the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of A Midsummer Night's DreamGillibrand...

. Among the premiere cast was Dominic Cooper

Dominic Cooper

Dominic Edward Cooper is an English actor. He has worked in TV, film, theatre and radio, in productions including Mamma Mia!, The Duchess, The History Boys, and The Devil's Double.- Early life :...

.