SHE STOOPS

TO CONQUER

By Oliver Goldsmith
Directed By Jonathon Munby

REP INSIGHT
 CONTENTS
3. Introduction

4. Synopsis of the Play

6. Cast & Characters

9. Oliver Goldsmith

10. 18th Century England

13. Interview with Jonathan Munby, Liza Goddard & Matthew

Douglas

16. Follow Up Ideas – Working with the story -‘I think that…’

17. Follow Up Ideas – Working with the story -‘ Media Exposure’

19. Follow Up Ideas - Working with the text – ‘In my own

words..’

21. Follow Up Ideas – Working with the text – ‘Soap Opera’

22. Follow Up Ideas - Working away from the Text & the Story
‘Before, During & After...’

23. Useful Websites

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INTRODUCTION
Welcom e to this REP Insight teachers’ resource pack for She Stoops To Conquer
by Oliver Goldsm ith.

A classic com edy of m anners, She Stoops to Conquer has delighted audiences for
over two centuries. First perform ed in 1773, the play is a rum bustious story
about two young m en, Charles Marlow and George Hastings and their attem pts
to court Kate Hardcastle and her friend Constance Neville.

A num ber of delightful deceits, clever schem es, com ic ruses and hilarious turns of
plot m ust be played out if the two pending m arriages are to conclude
happily. Along the way, there is an abundance of m erry m ix-ups, bawdy
dialogue, m uch sly satire of the tim es and one of the great characters of the stage,
Tony Lum pkin.

She Stoops to Conquer is an hilarious com edy of errors; the m arvellous hum our
and hum anity of Goldsm ith's play have m ade it one of the m ost read, perform ed
and studied of all English com edies.

Leading the cast is one of the country's m ost accom plished com edy actresses.
Lisa Goddard cam e to public attention in the hugely successful series, Take Three
Girls. Since then she has worked on m any of our best-known series including Pig
In The Middle, The Brothers and Bergerac.

This pack contains inform ation relating to the play and ideas for further
exploration of the them es. It also contains an interview with J onathan Munby
(Director), Liza Goddard (Mrs. Hardcastle) & Matthew Douglas (Marlow).

We hope you find it useful.

Helen Blackm ore

Education Associate
Birm ingham Repertory Theatre

REP Insight produced by The Birm ingham Repertory Theatre Learning &
Participation Departm ent, Septem ber 20 0 7

The Birm ingham Repertory Theatre

Centenary Square
Broad Street
Birm ingham
B1 2EP
(0 121) 245 20 0 0
www.birm ingham -rep.co.uk

Learning & Participation Departm ent: (0 121) 245 20 92

education@birm ingham -rep.co.uk

3
SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY
Act One opens with Squire Hardcastle and his second wife Mrs. Hardcastle
bickering. Mr. Hardcastle teases his wife about her age and her son, Tony
Lum pkin, whom she had with her first husband. Tony is a m ischievous m an, with
a love for drink and trickery, but not m uch else. Mrs. Hardcastle is quite
determ ined that her spoiled and rather stupid son shall m arry her niece,
Constance Neville. If they m arry she will be able to keep in the fam ily Miss
Neville's fortune - a casket of valuable jewels. Miss Neville and Tony Lum pkin,
however, can only agree on one thing; their hatred of each other.

Miss Neville is secretly pledged to another young m an, Mr. Hastings, who is
friends with Mr. Marlow, the son of Mr. Hardcastle’s good friend Sir Charles.
Hardcastle wants Marlow to m arry his charm ing daughter Kate, but Marlow
suffers from extrem e anxiety when in the presence of young ladies of equal social
standing and is barely able to speak. He suffers no such fear when in the presence
of wom en of lower status, however, and successfully flirts with bar m aids,
servants and the like.

The Hardcastle fam ily are expecting the arrival of Marlow and his friend,
Hastings. However, Hastings & Marlow have lost their way and stop at the village
inn to get their bearings. Tony Lum pkin is drinking within and hears of the m en’s
plight. Being the m ischievous fellow that he is he seizes the opportunity, along
with his friends, of m isguiding Hastings & Marlow and causing m uch m errim ent.
He tells the m en that they are so lost that they m ust spend the night at a local inn
and directs them to the Hardcastle house which he highly recom m ends if they
will excuse the eccentricities of the owner and his fam ily.

Neither young Marlow nor Squire Hardcastle senses that both are victim s of a
hoax and duly m ake their way to the Hardcastle house, believing it to be an inn.
When they arrive, they treat Hardcastle as the innkeeper while the squire
(knowing who they are) is m uch incensed at the bold and im pudent behaviour of
his friend's son. Young Hastings, as soon as he sees Constance, puts two and two
together. Constance and Hastings agree to keep Marlow in ignorance and pretend
that Constance and Kate, com pletely by coincidence, happen to be stopping the
night at the inn.

When introduced to Kate, Marlow can find little to say and stum bles through a
half conversation. In his em barrassm ent he never once looks at her face. It is not
surprising, therefore, that later in the evening when he sees her going about the
house in the plain house dress her father insists on, he takes her for the bar m aid.
She encourages the deception in order to find out if he is really as witless as he
seem s. In her bar m aid's guise she is pleasantly surprised to find him not dum b
but, indeed, possessed of a graceful and ready wit. When she reveals herself as a
well born but poor relation of the Hardcastle fam ily he acknowledges his love for
her.

It is not until Marlow’s father Sir Charles arrives that the truth is revealed.
Marlow, unaware of the bar m aid’s true identity, claim s he feels no love for Kate
Hardcastle and dism isses any possibility of a union between them . Kate,
however, claim s that he has declared his love for her. She then sets about
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revealing the truth by instructing her father and Sir Charles to hide in the room
where she is about to m eet with Marlow. Dressed in her plain clothes, Marlow
(thinking her the bar m aid) m akes no secret of his feelings for her and all is
revealed.

Whilst all this is going on, Miss Neville and Hastings are plotting to elope.
However, they cannot leave without Constance’s rightful fortune of jewels and
they enlist the help of Tony Lum pkin to achieve this. Tony is only to happy to
help, since the disappearance of Constance will put an end to his m others
m eddling in his love life. All does not go according to plan though. Having
successfully retrieved the jewels from his m other, Tony Lum pkin gives the jewels
to Hastings, who sends them to Marlow for safe keeping. Marlow (not
understanding the significance of the casket) then gives the jewels to a servant to
stow away securely. The jewels end up back with their keeper, Mrs. Hardcastle. In
the end, Hastings and Miss Neville are forced to com e clean and declare their
love. It isn’t until Tony Lum pkin refuses her hand that she is free to m arry
however, he doesn’t believe he can do this until he is com e of age. Mr. Hardcastle
then reveals that he is already of age, a fact that Mrs. Hardcastle has been
keeping from him , and the play ends with two sets of lovers rightfully betrothed
to one another.

Illustration for She Stoops to Conquer

Edwin Austin Abbey, 1885

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CAST & CHARACTERS

MR. HARDCASTLE
(Colin Baker)
Hardcastle is an old fashioned m an, who thinks his
wife rather foolish for her love of the fashions and
fancies of London. He is very fond of his daughter
Kate and is keen for her to m arry Marlow.

MRS.HARDCASTLE
(Liza Goddard)
Mrs. Hardcastle is a som ewhat ridiculous character
who enjoys m eddling in the affairs of others.
Desperate to m arry off her son to her niece, in order
to keep the fam ily jewels, she is selfish and foolish.

KATE HARDCASTLE
(Dorothea Myer-Bennett)
Kate is a sm art, charm ing wom an, who uses her
intelligence and cunning to win the heart of Marlow.

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 TONY LUMPKIN
(Jonathan Broadbent)
Tony Lum pkin is the rather spoilt son of Mrs.
Hardcastle from her previous m arriage. Fond of
drinking and m aking m ischief, Lum pkin am uses
him self by causing havoc for others.

CONSTANCE HARDCASTLE
(Annie Hemingway)
Constance is in love with Mr Hastings but her aunt,
Mrs. Hardcastle wants her to m arry her cousin Tony
Lum pkin. In the end, Constance wins.

SIR CHARLES MARLOW

(GLYNN SWEET)
An old friend of Mr. Hardcastle, Sir Charles is as
keen as his friend for his son and Kate to be m arried.

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 MARLOW
(Matthew Douglas)
Mr. Marlow is struck dum b when in the com pany of
ladies of social standing. Kate’s clever tactics unite
them as a couple in the end.

HASTINGS
(Matthew Burgess)
Hastings is in love with Constance Neville and tries
to elope with her so that they m ay escape the
m arriage plans of Constance’s aunt Mrs. Hardcastle
who wants Constance to m arry her son Tony.

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 OLIVER GOLDSMITH
1728/30-1774
• Nov 10 1728 0 r 1730 – Born in Ireland (exact year and location unknown)

• 1747 – His father (Rector of Kilkenny West) dies.

• 1749 – He gains a Bachelor of Arts in Theology & Law from Trinity

College, Dublin.

• He later studies Medicine at University of Edinburgh and University of

Leiden, before travelling around Europe living on his wits.

• 1755 & 1757 – He studies at University of Padua, then later m oves to

London and works as an apothecary’s assistant.

• Addicted to gam bling, Goldsm ith m akes som e m oney from being a ‘hack
writer’ – paid to write low quality, quickly put together articles or books.

• Meets Sam uel J ohnson (Essayist) and becom es a m em ber of ‘The Club’
(dining and conversation club founded in 1764) of which J oshua Reynolds
(Artist) is also a m em ber.

• 1774 – Goldsm ith dies from a kidney infection

• Most fam ous works – The Deserted Village (1770 Poem ), The Herm it
(1765 Ballad), She Stoops to Conquer (1771 Play – first perform ed 1773).

Oliver Goldsmith

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18TH CENTURY ENGLAND

SOCIAL CLASS
During the eighteenth century, the people of England were largely divided by
social class. The class that a person belonged to was decided by their wealth, the
upper classes were the richest whilst the lower classes were the poorest. The
m iddle and upper classes enjoyed the finest food, liquor and fashion available
while the lower classes struggled to survive.

DISEASE
Disease in the cities was rife due to overcrowding, poor sanitation and living
conditions. Sm allpox was one of the m ost com m on illnesses. During the
eighteenth century it killed an estim ated 60 m illion Europeans. A contagious
disease, it was easily passed from person to person in cram ped houses and
streets. When a sick person from the lower class went to hospital to seek m edical
help, they were often m et with prejudice and ignored in favour or patients with
higher social standing.

Prisoners in N ew gate Prison

William Hogarth

POVERTY
The lower classes (the poor people) struggled to survive. They would often go
hungry and in very low tim es bread was all they could get their hands on to eat.
In the cities the poor people lived on the streets or in sm all, dirty houses with
m any children sharing a bed. In the countryside, farm ers and their fam ilies were
forced to share shelters with their livestock. Their hom es were often m ade of soil,
dirt or pieces of wood lashed together.

10
 Gin Lane
William Hogarth, 1751

EMPLOYMENT
The m en were largely responsible for going out to work and bringing an incom e
into the hom e. Am ongst the poor however, wom en too sought em ploym ent.
Generally though, wom en were kept busy with the housework and other jobs -
cooking, brewing ale, knitting, washing, teaching their young, gardening and
m aking butter. Som e wom en chose to set up shops in the m arket and sell
different products. This helped the incom e a lot in the lower class fam ilies. In the
countryside, m en were em ployed in physical work on farm s – ploughing, planting
and harvesting. During the harvest, wom en would assist if they didn’t have any
children to m ind.

A Georgian m arket

11
EDUCATION
During the eighteenth century, schools were constantly opening and closing. Fees
were charged to students, to cover the teacher’s wage and books etc. The
likelihood of a school staying open was greatly increased if the school was
attended by children from wealthy fam ilies. If the m ajority of children were from
poorer fam ilies then the school’s life was likely to be in constant jeopardy. In this
way, education was only readily available to those who could afford it and the
poor, unable to become educated and increase their chances of a better working
life, were kept at the bottom of the social classes. University was only open to
m en.

CLOTHING
The clothing of the tim e was very decorative. The wom en of the upper class wore
nothing but the best m aterial and the finest crafted outfits. First they put on their
linen shirts. These shirts hung down below their knees. They then tied a string
around their waist fastening the shirt. The corset was next. A corset was a tightly
fastened body suit m ade of cloth and either m etal or whalebone strips. This
device was used to shape the body into any figure desired. The figure of the tim e
was com parable to an hourglass. Big on the top and bottom , but skinny in the
m iddle. Most wom en are not naturally shaped like this so m uch strain was put
on the body when a corset was worn. Wom en did a lot of dam age to their bodies
like tearing skin, and even bruising internal organs. It has also been noted that
one wom an actually died because her corset was tied too tight. Men usually
shaved their heads and then wore wigs, as wigs were m uch easier to m anage than
a real head of hair. Men were rarely seen without their wigs on if they owned one.
Also m any wore three point cocked hats. Three piece suits were definitely the
m ost com m on attire for m en. The pants were cut really high and didn’t go past
the knees. Som e even carried canes.

12
 Interview with Jonathan Munby (Director), Liza Goddard
(playing the character of Mrs Hardcastle) and Matthew
Douglas (playing the character of Marlow)
Q: W h at are th e ch alle n ge s th at yo u face in d ire ctin g th is p lay?
J M: One of the first things is m aking sure the play reaches out to a contem porary
audience and feels fresh and alive. The play was written in 1771 with the first
perform ance in 1773 and it’s im portant to m ake sure that we deliver a production
of this play that honours where the play has com e from , that acknowledges what
the play is, and that reaches out to a contem porary audience. The language is a
couple of hundred years old; it’s closer to that of the Restoration period than
m odern English. It’s a m ore heightened prose than contem porary writing, so
there’s the challenge of getting our m ouths and our m inds round the text to
release it for a m odern audience. We also need to m ake sure that we understand
the period and where the play has com e from well enough to do it justice – the
m anners, the etiquette and the protocol of the tim e. We’re doing the production
in period, so it’s about understanding the period well enough in order to release
the play.

Q: In yo u r o p in io n , w h at is th is p lay re ally abo u t?

J M: The thing that feels m ost potent to m e and that I know that Goldsm ith was
interested in is the tension between town and country and class difference. Also
the snobbery that is born out of that tension – the difference between country
living and town living and also the aspiration of wanting to transcend a barrier
and become som ething other. For exam ple a country dweller who wants to be a
townie, or the tension of a town dweller arriving in the country and feeling that
they’re like a fish out of water. Or, som eone wishing to transcend class and
discovering the tension as a result of that desire is brought brilliantly to light by
the play and feels very resonant now. We still live in a London-centric country
where the provinces feel second best to the capital and I think that there is a
snobbery that’s born out of that. I know that this play goes to the heart of that
current feeling. The other thing, which com es absolutely from Goldsm ith – he
was an individual who found it difficult to operate in public – is shyness and fear.
The expectation that we put on young people to find m atches, and the
expectation that we put on a young m an specifically in this instance to woo and
court and find a perfect m atch (to woo his Kate) and what happens as a result of
those expectations. There’s a high stake situation and that’s a fascinating thing in
the play and som ething that we all have an em otional connection with.

Q: W h at d o yo u th in k is th e ce n tral qu e s tio n at th e h e art o f th e p lay?

J M: There isn’t one global question at the heart of the play, although what is clear
are the individual needs and desires of the characters. For exam ple, Mrs.
Hardcastle wants refined pleasures; she wants to transcend the ram bling
m ansion that she lives in and to refine it, and she wants her husband to be m ore
refined. She wants the world she lives in to be m ore fashionable. Marlow wants to
find a peace in his life, and to find a m atch and the pressure that he’s put under is
one of the obstacles to his achieving this. They’re all after som ething – Mr.
Hardcastle wants peace as well. He wants people to stop m aking dem ands on
him .

13
LG: The title of course is that it’s all about Kate having to dissem ble to get the
m an that she wants.

Q: So is it a qu e s tio n o f co m p ro m is e ?
J M: Or a question of “what do I need to do to achieve the thing I want?” The title
of the play changed – it was originally called ‘The Mistakes of a Night’ (and we
intend to use that as a subtitle because the play is a series of m istakes and
m isunderstandings) but it was changed a day before the first perform ance
because Goldsm ith felt that it was this girl’s [Kate’s] choice to do this thing in
order to get what she wants (i.e. the m an) and also it helps him [Marlow]. To
release him .
LG: So had he [Goldsm ith] taken that from A Midsum m er N ight’s Dream ? Was
that his original thought do you suppose – star crossed lovers and people
pretending to be other than they are?
J M: When it was ‘Mistakes of a Night?’ Yes, and it was very m uch part of the
vogue of sentim ental com edy; the m iddle classes getting terribly worked up about
their dilem m as. The original title suggests that it was just that – this m iddle class
pursuit and it was just these little m istakes that they would get over. He wanted
to defeat that idea and align us with Kate and to understand that she feels it’s a
choice, a choice she is conscious of m aking to tam e her m an. Kate is no accident
or arbitrary choice in term s of character nam e. Goldsm ith wants us to see the
echo of Kate in The Tam ing of the Shrew , and possible to view this play as a
counterpoint – the tam er being tam ed.

Q: W h at d o e s Mrs . H ard cas tle re p re s e n t in th e w o rld o f th e p lay?

LG: Mrs. Hardcastle represents the country, and in fact it’s exactly the sam e
today. I don’t think there’s ever been such a void between town and country
probably since the 18 th Century. People who live in towns have no idea what it’s
like to live in the country – I live in the country and it’s so m uch alike. There’s
people in the village I live in who’ve never been to London – “I’ve been to
Norwich, but I’ve never been to London, I don’t know how you m anage it!” And
so there’s this extraordinary thing about London to som eone like Mrs. Hardcastle
who longs to be in London. She longs to wear the latest fashions - she has to get
hold of the fashions from people writing to her and getting m agazines so she’s
always behind – she reads last year’s Vogue and tries to m ake her dresses and her
hair look like that. She longs to go to London and have this fine life but she’s
m arried to this m an who lives in a ram bling old house in the country and never
sees anybody. And she wants for her beloved son to m arry her niece who has a
good fortune (although her son eventually com es into a fortune him self), so she
can then live vicariously through them .

Q: W h at w o u ld yo u like a yo u n g au d ie n ce to id e n tify w ith in th e

ch aracte r o f Mrs . H ard cas tle ?
LG: I think a young audience will identify with this interfering old busybody of a
m other, wanting her son and daughter to do one thing, while they are fully set on
doing som ething com pletely different, (which I have great experience of, having
children!). I think that m others are still the sam e today as they ever were,
wanting their children to m ake a good m atch, wanting them to live a particular
sort of life when of course they want to live their own life, which is as it should be.

14
Q: W h at co m p aris o n s can yo u d raw be tw e e n Mrs . H ard cas tle ’s vie w
o f th e yo u n ge r ch aracte rs in th e p lay an d s o cie ty’s vie w o f th e yo u n ge r
ge n e ra tio n to d ay?
LG: Well I don’t think m uch has changed quite frankly! All the older generation
still think the young are up to no good, going off with the wrong people and living
a life of high licentiousness. For exam ple Tony Lum pkin is always in the pub,
always out larking around with the lads, going too fast on his horse, (driving fast
cars!), getting drunk, not attending to his lessons. I don’t think there’s any
difference at all.

Q: D o yo u fin d it h ard to m ake Marlo w a like able ch aracte r? Th e w ay

th at h e be h ave s to w ard s Kate w h e n h e th in ks th at s h e ’s a barm aid is
qu ite d iffe re n t to h is be h avio u r in o th e r s ce n e s .
MD: Yes, he’s quite naughty in a cheeky way but I think you’ve got to start with
perspective that you really do like your character, irrespective of who they are or
how bad or evil they can be. I think as an actor I have to find a way of
understanding why he behaves as he does. His behaviour with Kate in the bar is
perhaps not how you and I would behave, but that’s how they did and could
behave at that tim e. Men still do, and so do wom en! I think by that point in the
play we are sym pathetic enough to not be alienated by that behaviour. It’s very
clear by that point what drives him and what his problem s are. I think that
m om ent of release that he’s going to feel by seducing that barm aid will be key to
how audiences feel. Also what’s im portant about that scene (and what’s m y
responsibility I suppose) is that he sees Kate at that point and falls in love with
her, he physically falls in love with her.
J M: It’s not so m uch an act of lust as an act of love.
LG: He also behaves very m orally; he doesn’t seduce the barm aid in the way that
we would think. Because he’s usually so shy he feels free to enjoy fem ale com pany
which he can’t norm ally.
MD: He’s not predatory I don’t think, he’s seductive.
LG: He’s relaxed and able to talk; I don’t think he behaves badly.

Q: If th e y w e re alive to d ay, w h at d o yo u th in k th e ch aracte rs o f th e

p lay w o u ld fin d m o s t d ifficu lt to co p e w ith in m o d e rn d ay s o cie ty?
LG: Well Mrs. Hardcastle would love it! She’d just get fashion straight off the
plate!
J M: All the characters are so different. They want such different things and they
ask such different things. I think they would each find a different part of society
difficult. I think society is as false and hypocritical as it was in the 18 th Century,
and the characters would find it as problem atic as it was in the 180 0 ’s. Mr.
Hardcastle would be as grum py as he was then, he’d be exactly the sam e now.
LG: He’d be shouting at the television now! Nowadays the upper classes have
becom e m uch like the upper m iddle classes of the play, they’ve becom e
com pletely cut off from society, and in fact som e people who live in Islington and
so forth and m ost of the people who run the country have no idea what real life is
like at all so I don’t think there’s any change.

15
 FOLLOW UP IDEAS

Working with the Story

‘I think that…’

U s e th e fo llo w in g as s tartin g p o in ts fo r d is cu s s io n an d d e bate

• She Stoops to Conquer is also known as The Mistakes of a N ight. Which is

the better title and why?

• The casket of jewels belonging to Constance Neville were kept by her aunt
Mrs. Hardcastle. Should Constance have just taken them when she wanted
them ? Why didn’t she?

• Mr. Hardcastle is strict about the way in which Kate dresses. Why is he so?
What do you think about his opinion?

• Marlow is unable to converse with wom en of equal social standing, yet he

has no problem with wom en of a lower class. What does this suggest about
him and his view/ respect of wom en?

• Does Kate lower her standards in order to get her m an? What do you
think?

• Mrs Hardcastle is adam ant that Constance and Tony will m arry according
to her arrangem ents. What do you think of arranged m arriages? What are
the pros and cons? Is Kate and Marlow’s m arriage arranged?

• Mrs Hardcastle has no control over her son Tony. Why is this?

• Hastings and Constance collude in deceiving Marlow. Why do they do

this?

16
FOLLOW UP IDEAS

Working with the Story

‘Media Exposure’
Ch o o s e o n e o f th e e ve n ts in th e s to ry to fo cu s o n an d th e n ch o o s e a
m e d ia fo rm at to w o rk w ith . Cre ate s o m e th in g th at co u ld be re le as e d
to th e m e d ia fo r p u blic vie w in g in 2 0 0 7. U s e th e s u gge s tio n s be lo w , o r
p ick yo u r o w n s tartin g p o in t.

TV – Th e H o t e l In s p e ct o r
Write the script and storyboard a TV show based on The Hotel Inspector in which
the characters Marlow and Hastings give their opinion on Mr. Hardcastle’s hom e
which they believe to be an inn.

TV – Blin d D a t e
Write the script and if possible film a version of Blind Date in which Hastings and
Marlow pose questions to potential lovers. What questions do they ask? Include
Kate and Constance in the line up of potential lovers – How do Constance and
Kate get their m en? What do they say? Swap over the roles and create a version
where Kate & Constance get to choose – How do Hastings & Marlow ensure they
are picked?

TV – Pa n o r a m a
Write and storyboard a docum entary about one of the events of the story – from
what perspective will you write it? What aspect of the story will you concentrate
on? Where will you set it? Which character will you focus on? It m ay help you to
choose a question to base your program m e around – What lengths would you go
to to get your m an? Are wom en cleverer than m en? Does m oney buy you
happiness? What are upper class m en really like?

Magazin e – OK !
Create a m agazine article in the style of OK! Magazine which follows the wedding
of Kate Hardcastle & Marlow. Write interviews with the bride and groom and
their parents. What questions would you ask them ? What would their responses
be? What photographs would you include? Where would they be taken? Think
about the slant you m ight like to put on the article – what would the headline be?

N e w s p ap e r – Th e D a ily M a il
Write an article about Mrs. Hardcastle, her m arriage and her life in the country.
What would she say about these things? Would the newspaper put a slant on her
com m ents? What would the headline be? Choose a focus for the article to help
you. ‘Town versus Country’ what do the wives of two respected society gentlem en
think? Would Mrs. Hardcastle speak of her form er husband?

17
Magazin e – H e a t – ‘Man o f th e Mo n th ’
Write an article about Tony Lum pkin which focuses on trying to get him a wife.
How would you describe him as a potential suitor? What sort of wom an m ight
suit him best? What aspects of his life would you include and are there any you
m ight think it best to leave out?!

Rad io – D e s e r t Is la n d D is cs
Write a radio programm e which has one of the characters from the play as a
special guest. What questions would the interviewer ask them and what would
they talk about? What songs (from m odern day) would the character choose to
take with them to a deserted island and why?

Rad io – Je r e m y Vin e
Write a slot for J erem y Vine’s radio show on BBC Radio 2, which focuses on
parent and child relationships. Mrs. Hardcastle could be a caller, who calls in to
the show to discuss her difficulties with her son Tony. What advice m ight she be
given? What other guests m ight be in the show to advise her – child psychologist?
Counsellor? Doctor? Police Officer? Should Tony receive an ASBO for his
behaviour at the local inn?!

Rad io – Qu ick Qu iz
Write a quiz for radio about the events and characters of She Stoops to Conquer.
Record a slot for radio in which the quiz features and get your peers to com pete
to win. Think about varying the type of quiz questions, you m ight like to include –
Who said this..? Questions about quotes, Which character did this…? Questions
about events, What are the two nam es by which the play is known…? Questions
about the play.

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 FOLLOW UP IDEAS

Working with the Text

‘In my own words…’
Lo o k at th e fo llo w in g s crip ts e xtracts , d is cu s s th e m e an in g an d p u t
th e w o rd s in to m o d e rn d ay lan gu age .

Act I - Sce n e I

H ard cas tle : (Talking about Mrs. H & Tony ) Ay, there goes a pair that only spoil
each other. But is not the whole age in a com bination to drive sense and
discretion out of doors? There’s m y pretty darling Kate! The fashions of the tim es
have alm ost infected her too. By living a year or two in town, she’s as fond of
gauze and French frippery as the best of them .

Act I – Sce n e I

Mis s . H ard cas tle : (Talking after her father has told her about Mr. Marlow )
Lud, this news of papa’s puts m e all in a flutter. Young, handsom e; these he put
last; but I put them forem ost. Sensible, good-natured; I like all that. But then
reserved, and sheepish, that’s m uch against him . Yet can’t he be cured of his
tim idity, by being taught to be proud of his wife? Yes, and can’t I – but I vow I’m
disposing of the husband before I have secured the lover.

Act I – Sce n e II

Mis s . H ard cas tle : (After her first m eeting w ith Marlow ) Ha! Ha! Ha! Was
there ever such a sober sentim ental interview? I’m certain he scarce looked in m y
face the whole tim e. Yet the fellow, but for his unaccountable bashfulness, is
pretty well, too. He has good sense, but then so buried in his fears, that it fatigues
one m ore than ignorance. If I could teach him a little confidence, it would be
doing som ebody that I know of a piece of service. But who is that som ebody? –
that, faith, is a question I can scarce answer.

Act I – Sce n e II

Mrs . H ard cas tle : (Talking about her husband to Mr. Hastings) Yet, what
signifies m y dressing when I have such a piece of antiquity y m y side as Mr
Hardcastle: all I can say will never argue down a single button from his clothes. I
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have often wanted him to throw off his great flaxen wig, and where he was bald to
plaster it over like m y Lord Pately, with powder.
H as tin gs : You are right, m adam ; for, as am ong the ladies there are none ugly, so
am ong the m en there are none old.

Mrs . H ard cas tle : But what do you think his answer was? Why, with his usual
Gothic vivacity, he said I only wanted him to throw off his wig to convert it into a
tete for m y own wearing!

Act III – Sce n e I

Mrs . H ard cas tle : (Talking to Constance N eville) Indeed, Constance, you
am aze m e. Such a girl as you want jewels? It will be tim e enough for jewels, m y
dear, twenty years hence, when your beauty begins to want repairs.

Mis s N e ville : But what will repair beauty at forty, will certainly im prove it at
twenty, m adam .

Act III – Sce n e I

Maid : (Speaking to Miss Hardcastle about Miss Hardcastle’s plan to disguise

herself) But what do you hope from keeping him in his m istake?

Mis s H ard cas tle : In the first place, I shall be seen, and that is no sm all
advantage to a girl who brings her face to m arket. Then I shall perhaps m ake an
acquaintance, and that’s no sm all victory gained over one who never addresses
any but the idlest of her sex. But m y chief aim is to take m y gentlem an off his
guard, and like an invisible cham pion of rom ance, exam ine the qiant’s force
before I offer to com bat.

Th e re are m an y m o re s e ctio n s o f th e te xt th at w o u ld be in te re s tin g to

u s e fo r tran s latio n in to m o d e rn d ay lan gu age , ch o o s e th e o n e s yo u
th in k w o u ld w o rk w e ll.

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 FOLLOW UP IDEAS

Working with the Text

‘Soap Opera’
U s in g th e o rigin al te xt o r a m o d e rn re -w ritte n ve rs io n o f yo u r o w n , to
cre ate a s o ap o p e ra fo r e ith e r rad io o r te le vis io n .

• How long will each episode be?

Th in gs to co n s id e r….

• What budget do you have for each episode, the actors, the cam era
• What part of the country do you want the story be set in? Why?
crew/ radio studio technicians, costum es etc?

• Which fam ous actors could you use to play the various different
• Would you want the actors to use a particular accent? Why that one?
characters?

• What film ing style would you use? Consider the various styles used by
soap operas – Holly oaks uses a very different style to Coronation
Street.

Th in gs to d o ….

• Create a storyboard for each episode – are there any difficulties you
need to overcom e in order to film / record the scenes?

• Write a list of all the sound effects you will need for each scene for the
radio version. How will you m ake the sounds?

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 FOLLOW UP IDEAS

Working away from the Text & the Story

‘Before, During & After...’
U s in g th e te xt an d th e e ve n ts o f th e s to ry as s tim u lu s , co n s id e r w h at
e ls e co u ld h ave be e n w ritte n o r in clu d e d in th e p lay, o r w rite a s e qu e l.
U s e th e s u gge s tio n s be lo w o r p ick yo u r o w n .

• Write a love letter from Hastings to Constance before his arrival at the
Le tte rs

Hardcastle house.

• Write a letter from Hardcastle to Marlow, inviting his son to m eet his
daughter Kate.

• Write a letter from Mrs Hardcastle to Constance explaining the

disappearance of the fam ily jewels.

• Write a diary extract for Kate on the day that she and Marlow becom e
D iary En trie s

betrothed.

• Write a diary extract for Tony Lum pkin on the day he discovers he is ‘of
age’.

• Write a diary extract for Mr Hardcastle on the day he sees his daughter
m arry Marlow.

• Write a script for a scene between Mr. And Mrs. Hardcastle before the
Play Scrip ts

weddings of Constance & Kate. Mr. & Mrs. Hardcastle are shopping for
clothes in London!

• Write a script for a scene in the local inn where Tony Lum pkin tells the
story of all that has happened and tells all his friends of his future plans
now that he is ‘of age’!

• Write a scene for the servants in which they give their opinion of what is
going on in the house when Marlow and Hastings arrive.

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USEFUL WEBSITES

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Ph o to o f Olive r Go ld s m ith

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En cyclo p ae d ia e n try fo r Sh e St o o p s t o Co n q u e r

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h ttp :/ / w w w .n w e .u fl.e d u / ~ p crad d o c/ s to o p s .h tm l

Co m m e n t o n th e p la y by An ita W h ite

h ttp :/ / w w w .h e ritage th e atre .co m / p ro d u ct_ in fo .p h p / p ro d u c

ts _ id / 3 4
D VD o f th e p lay

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