With his louche air and a developed taste for smoking, gambling, port and women, it’s hard to believe Cis Farringdon is only fourteen. And that’s because he isn’t. Agatha his mother lopped five years from her true age and his when she married the amiable Posket.

The imminent arrival of Cis’ godfather sends Agatha incognito to the Hôtel des Princes to warn him of her deception. But it’s also where her son has cajoled his otherwise staid stepfather into joining him for a binge. High-spirited carousing leads to a police raid and a night of outrageous mishap as the trapped guests make desperate attempts to conceal themselves from the law and from each other. Indignities escalate at court the next day where Posket, the police magistrate, must preside.

"'A Victorian corker of a show.' Daily Mail 'The more Wildean lines and jolts of wit mean The Magistrate remains likeable seasonal fare.' Evening Standard 'Pinero's still-viable, time-proof play...is elegantly structured.' The Guardian 'The riotous comedy of Arthur Wing Pinero's classic Victorian farce - [is] as crisp, ripe and funny as the ongoing hit One Man, Two Guvnors.' The Express 'Arthur Wing Pinero is enjoying a renaissance' Observer 'The script runs like a piece of comic clockwork - Pinero had the intellect of a great jurist, and he crams his play with moments of subtle and delicate comedy.' The Spectator"

Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934) was the leading playwrightof the Victorian theatre. His plays include The Schoolmistress(1886), Dandy Dick (1887), Sweet Lavender (1888), TheNotorious Mrs. Ebbsmith (1895), Trelawny of the ‘Wells’ (1898),The Gay Lord Quex (1899), Iris (1901), and Mid-Channel (1909).