The Magistrate (play)

The Magistrate is a farce by the English playwright Arthur Wing Pinero. The plot concerns a respectable magistrate who finds himself caught up in a series of scandalous events that almost cause his disgrace.

The first production opened at the Court Theatre in London on 21 March 1885. It was Pinero's first attempt at farce, after several serious plays, and took audiences and critics by surprise. It was very favourably reviewed, and became a box-office hit, running for a year and closing on 24 March 1886. The play has been frequently revived. Productions include those at Terry's Theatre in 1892; the Arts Theatre, 1943; St Martin's Theatre in 1944; and the Old Vic in 1959. A more recent London revival, starring Ian Richardson as Posket, was at the Savoy Theatre in 1997.

In 1917 the play was adapted as a musical comedy that ran in London for 801 performances under the title The Boy. The plot was unchanged, but the characters were all given new names. In 1934, the play was adapted for the screen under the title Those Were the Days, starring Will Hay.

At Mr. Posket's, Bloomsbury
Some years before the play begins, Mr. Posket, a London magistrate, married a widow, Agatha Farringdon. At the time she had pretended to be 31 rather than her true age, which was 36. Accordingly, she found that she needed also to knock five years off the supposed age of her son by her first marriage, Cis Farringdon. When the play opens, the Poskets are preparing to entertain to dinner the following day an old friend of Posket, Colonel Lukyn. The Colonel knew Mrs. Posket in her earlier days, and is Cis's godfather. He is well aware of Mrs. Posket's true age. Fearful that the Colonel may be indiscreet about dates, she slips out that evening to see him privately. She takes with her her sister Charlotte who is staying with the Poskets for a few days, getting over a broken engagement.

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