A naive young woman falls for a handsome young man who her emotionally abusive father suspects is a fortune hunter.

Charley and Jack pressure classmate Fancourt to pose as Charley's aunt Donna Lucia. Their purpose is to have a chaperone for their amorous visits with Amy and Kitty, niece and ward of crusty Stephen Spettigue. Complications begin when Fancourt, in drag, becomes the love object of not only old Spettigue but also Jack's grandfather.

In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, Olga, Irina, Masha, and their brother Andrei live but dream daily of their return to Moscow, where life is charming and stimulating meaningful. But for now, they exist in a malaise of dissatisfaction. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. Andrei marries provincial Natasha and begins to settle into a life of much less meaning than he'd hoped. Natasha begins to run the family her way. Masha, though married, yearns for the sophisticated life and begins a dalliance with Vershinin, an army officer with a sick and suicidal wife. Even Irina, the freshest, most optimistic of the sisters, begins to waver in her dreams until, finally, tragedy strikes.

The stories of several people are told as they stay at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth.

A businessman thwarts his wife's bequest of an estate to another woman.

A glittering "fancy-dress" comedy that bubbles over with the wit and humour of Richard Sheridan, and characters like Mrs Malaprop and Sir Anthony Absolute, "the very pineapple of perfection".