Speed the plough : A comedy, in five acts; as performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden

A lively eighteenth‑century comedy opens on a bustling farm where the pragmatic Ashfield and his witty wife set the tone with good‑natured banter and a gentle mock‑ery of fashionable pretensions. Sir Abel Handy, ever eager to embrace the latest fashions, stumbles through his own conceits, while the earnest Sir Philip Blandford is drawn into a mysterious intrigue that promises both humor and tension.

The play’s cast of bright, if sometimes exaggerated, personalities— from the self‑important Bob Handy to the headstrong Miss Blandford who instantly falls for a plough‑boy—creates a vibrant tableau of rural life colliding with genteel folly. Through clever dialogue and witty observations, the first two acts tease a plot that balances satire with sentiment, inviting listeners to enjoy the cheerful chaos before the story’s deeper twists unfold.